Neighbors became alarmed as the man clung to life after a ‘targeted’ shooting

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Article author:

Calvi Leon • Reporter for the Initiative for Local Journalism

Posted Jan 07, 2023 • Last updated 8 hours ago • Read 2 minutes

7 comments A St. Thomas police officer looks over a fence outside a home on Palm Street in St. Thomas, where multiple police patrols monitored the scene Saturday, Jan. 7, 2022, after an early morning shooting in the area. (Calvi Leon/The London Free Press)

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A man was in critical condition and St. Thomas police were searching for a suspect after a shooting on the city’s south end Saturday morning.

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Officers called around 6 a.m. to a shooting at a home on Palm Street in the Elgin County town, south of London, found an elderly man who had been shot in the torso, St. Thomas police said.

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Police said the man was rushed to a London hospital, where he underwent surgery and was in critical condition as of early Saturday afternoon. Police believe the shooting was targeted and say there is “no risk to public safety.”

Tactical officers from the Ontario Provincial Police were called in to assist in the investigation.

Investigators remained on the scene into the early afternoon as they “actively work to identify and apprehend the suspect(s) in this case,” police said.

Several neighbors told the Free Press that several police patrols, including a canine unit and a SWAT team, surrounded a home on Palm Street earlier in the morning.

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“I was a little scared,” said Maggie Underhill, a longtime resident, when she saw the large police presence.

“I feel a little nervous, but it’s a really quiet, friendly neighborhood,” she said, calling it a “one-time incident.”

Like Underhill, many residents in the area said they didn’t hear the gunfire, but woke up to flashing lights and officers checking the scene.

“I went for a walk and then I knew there was a shooting,” said Chris Zinn, who lives nearby.

“A police officer told me to go into the house” around 6:10 a.m., he said.

Three police patrols were at the scene around 2 p.m., with one officer stationed at the side of a house near the garage. Many residents said a family with teenagers had been living there for several years.

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Roads around Palm Street were closed for several hours during the investigation, but reopened by midday.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 519-631-1224 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Less than a month ago, police in St. Thomas were investigating another shooting, which is quite rare in this city. On Dec. 9, police said officers responded to an apartment building on Princess Avenue, near Elizabeth Street and south of Talbot Street, after receiving a report of a “loud explosion” and a man running from the building’s driveway.

Investigators described it as an isolated incident and noted that there was no immediate threat to the public.

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