Video shows individuals running for safety after daytime shooting in downtown Hamilton

Hamilton police have released video footage showing a number of individuals running to safety after gunfire erupted in the city’s downtown core on Wednesday afternoon.

Police say that officers were dispatched to the area of Jackson and Walnut streets just before 5 p.m. for a report of shots fired.

In the video, shared by police, at least two gunshots can be heard. Three individuals are then seen running.

Two of them take off in different directions in a surface parking lot while the third appears to run along a downtown street.

Moments later a fourth individual is then seen running down a sidewalk and across the same street.

Police say that their investigation has revealed that a verbal altercation between two groups of three male suspects “escalated to gunfire.”

Police say that officers have identified 16-year-old boy who is believed to be the gunman. That suspect is wanted on eight charges, including assault with a weapon and reckless discharge.

“In this case, the youth cannot be identified because of his age. Detectives are encouraging him to speak with counsel and turn himself in,” a news release issued on Friday afternoon notes.

Police previously said that numerous callers indicated that the suspects fled towards an apartment building on nearby Main Street and witnesses directed officers to a specific unit in that building.

The Emergency Response Unit was subsequently dispatched to the scene and police were able to arrest three suspects without incident.

But those suspects were later released after being interviewed by police.

There were no physical injuries reported as a result of the shooting.

It is the 34th incident involving gunfire in Hamilton so far this year and in the news release police said it follows a “follows a disturbing trend in shootings and youth violence in Hamilton.”

“There is a 162 per cent increase in shootings over this time last year and a 12.7 per cent increase in youth involved in violent crimes compared to the five-year average,” the release notes.