A man is dead and police are on the look-out for five people after an early Saturday morning homicide in Cambridge near the Masonic Lodge.
Tributes began pouring in on social media just a day after a
Waterloo Regional police are still looking for suspects but friends of Joseph Batten have turned to each other on social media to remember the 22-year-old.
Messages of condolences are floating around Twitter and Facebook.
Byron Keuhl, a friend of Batten's, posted on his Facebook wall "Love u buddy
On Twitter Sarah Walsh says "Life just isn't fair and its way too short. Rest in peace Joe Batten. Praying for your family and loved ones."
Loved ones have also started a memorial page. Others are just looking for answers on how it happened.
Waterloo Regional police say an altercation broke out sometime around 2 o'clock Saturday morning. When police arrived they found Batten suffering from injuries. He was taken to hospital and later died. Police haven't released the cause of death.
Detectives have a lot of questions, especially about why the altercation broke out.
Insp. Greg Lamport says "That'll be key to the investigation. Whoever had contact with the victim, prior to his death would be of interest to us."
Staff who work at the lodge say Friday night the banquet hall was rented out for a private Christmas party. Police have not laid charges, and haven't confirmed if they are looking for one or multiple suspects.
Zack Moreira walks past the hall frequently. He says this part of town is becoming too dangerous. "My wife, she works nights sometimes. I usually have to meet her out here because we're scared. Nobody knows what's going to happen."
In October 38-year-old Paula Mare was stabbed to death at the Comfort Inn just down the road. Her common law husband is charged with murder.
According to the Remembering JoJo Facebook site put up in his honour, Joe Batten would have turned 23 on December 22.
