As Monday afternoon gave way to Monday night, police had yet to make any arrests in connection with the death of a 60-year-old man allegedly shot with an arrow in Kitchener’s north end.
Additionally, they warned members of the public to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings as “the risk to public safety is not yet known” in the aftermath of the man’s death.
Waterloo Regional Police were called to the home at 387 Margaret Avenue, across from the entrance to Breithaupt Park, around 7 a.m.
A neighbour or passerby had called 911 after spotting the wounded man on the front lawn of the property.
He was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries, and pronounced dead later in the morning.
He was identified later in the day as Michael F. Gibbon.
A person living in the area told CTV News that he saw somebody taken out of 387 Margaret Avenue in a stretcher.
The man “seemed to be awake” and was holding a paramedic’s hand, but the neighbour had no idea what had happened before the emergency vehicles arrived.
“We didn’t hear any noises or anything like that. It was all pretty quiet,” Blair Wendell said.
Police did not say where the arrow came from, or if any specific suspects had been identified.
They did say that they consider the man’s death to be suspicious – though not directly related to 387 Margaret Avenue – and want to hear from anyone with information relevant to the investigation.
“If you happen to identity someone walking around in the City of Kitchener with an arrow or a bow, we would hope that you call police,” Staff Sgt. Mike Haffner told reporters.
Homicide detectives and other officers remained at the scene for the rest of the day. By mid-afternoon, police cruisers blocked other vehicles from accessing a section of Margaret Avenue.
Police also spent time searching the park, but it was not clear for what purpose or if anything was found.
A house on nearby Guelph Street was also blocked off by police, as investigators took photographs and removed evidence from the home. Haffner said he did not know if that action was connected to the investigation on Margaret.
About a dozen schools were placed in hold-and-secure situations – less serious than a lockdown, but severe enough that nobody was allowed into or out of the buildings – for much of the day.
Normal operations resumed at all those schools before the end of the instructional day.
It was not clear why the hold-and-secures were lifted, or why they extended as far as Kitchener’s civic district, where Suddaby Public School was among the facilities affected.
