Waterloo regional police investigating first homicide of 2024

Thursday’s shooting in Kitchener is now considered the region’s first homicide of the year.

Waterloo regional police said they were called to Gray Street, near Casey Drive, around 9 a.m. after people reported hearing gunshots.

When first responders arrived, they found a 28-year-old man dead outside a home.

His name has not been publicly released.

Investigators believe it was a targeted shooting but have not yet shared any details about the shooter.

A Waterloo regional police car outside a home on Gray Street in Kitchener. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)

Six schools in the area were placed in hold and secure while police began their investigation. That directive was lifted at 11 a.m.

Gray Street was shut down for most of Thursday. As of 4:45 p.m., it had reopened.

Police are asking neighbours to check their security or doorbell cameras for any activity around that time. They said footage can be submitted online.

Reaction from neighbours

Angela Skovsgaard, who lives a few doors down, learned about the shooting from her husband.

“He said: ‘There’s cop cars everywhere.’ I said: ‘Is everyone OK that I love?’ And he said: ‘Yes,’” she recalled. “You know, it’s tragic. So I hope that whoever did this is caught and my heart goes out to the families who lost somebody.”

Neighbours describe the area as quiet.

“Nothing like that has ever happened,” said Steve Antolcic. “Not even disturbances or fighting or something. Nothing.”

He called the shooting “terrifying.”

“How, in a peaceful neighbourhood, something like that can happen?”

Police respond to a shooting at Casey Drive and Gray Street on Jan. 25, 2024. (Dan Lauckner/CTV Kitchener)

Six schools in the area were placed in hold and secure while police investigated. That directive was lifted at 11 a.m.

“They said there were shots in the neighbourhood, behind our school,” said one person. “I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know if I should come outside or what I should do. Because who knows what’s going to happen to me?”

This was the second shooting in Waterloo Region in 2024.

The first was at a Cambridge home on Jan. 5. No one was hurt in that incident and two people have since been charged.

Police are urging residents to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activity.