Fatal shooting outside North Preston home ruled a homicide

RCMP say once there at the scene, police found the man, who was from Westphal, with gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital where he later died. (CBC - image credit)
RCMP say once there at the scene, police found the man, who was from Westphal, with gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital where he later died. (CBC - image credit)

A 36-year-old man is dead following a shooting in the Halifax-area community of North Preston on Wednesday night, according to RCMP.

In a news release Thursday, the Mounties said they received a report that a man had been shot near the 1100 block of Downey Road around 11:48 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Officers that were nearby on an unrelated matter arrived at the scene and secured the area. The Halifax Regional Police emergency response team was also sent to the scene.

Once there, police said they found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds. The Westphal man was taken to hospital, where he later died.

RCMP Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said officers seized a vehicle that was near the scene for further analysis.

He said the shooting took place outside a home in a residential area of North Preston.

Tremblay said police are investigating the death as a homicide. No other information was provided.

"It's certainly hard to elaborate without jeopardizing the investigation … but what we can say to reassure the public is that there's no risk to the public," he said. "It wasn't a random act in nature."

When asked about possible suspects, Tremblay reiterated that the investigation is ongoing and encouraged people who may have information about the shooting to contact police or Crime Stoppers.

MORE TOP STORIES