KITCHENER -- Police believe a Brantford man was the intended target of Sunday’s fatal shooting at a Hamilton club.
He’s been identified as 39-year-old Jahmal Thomas.
Officers received reports of gunfire at the Urban Lounge, located behind Sam’s Tavern on Barton Street East, around 5 a.m.
They say a man entered the basement venue and fired multiple shots, hitting three men and one woman, before he running away from the scene.
Thomas and 25-year-old Rhonda Homsombath of Hamilton died from their injuries.
"Our investigative team believes that Jahmal was the intended victim of the shooting but why we don't know," said Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk. "The motive right now is underdetermined. We believe there was a dispute of some sorts between one of more males with Jahmal. I understand that dispute may have been very brief and shots were fired."
The other two victims, a 38-year-old man and 29-year-old man, remain in hospital.
"We believe Rhonda and the other two males shot are casualties of stray gunfire," says Bereziuk.
The shooter is described as a black man, approximately 5’10, possibly in his early-30s, with a thin build and short braids. He was wearing dark pants with a tracksuit-style zip-up jacket.
The motive for the shooting is still under investigation.
However police say that earlier in the evening all four had attended a memorial service at the Zen Lounge for Carel Douse who was murdered back on May 18, 2019. The 33-year-old was fatally stabbed at a home on East Avenue North. All three suspects in that case were later arrested by police.
The families of Thomas and Homsombath have both asked for privacy at this time.
