TORONTO -- Two people are dead and two others are injured after a shooting at a bar in Hamilton early Sunday morning.
Hamilton police were called to the Sam's Hotel and Tavern on Barton Street East near Birch Avenue at around 5 a.m.
Paramedics initially took all four victims to a hospital. However, one of them, a 39-year-old man, was pronounced dead upon arrival. Police then confirmed shortly after 8 a.m. that a second victim, a 25-year-old woman, had died in hospital.
The two surviving male victims, a 38-year-old and a 29-year-old, are both listed in serious but stable condition.
Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk told reporters at the scene that the shooting happened at Urban Lounge, located in the basement behind Sam's Bar.
The suspect entered the bar and fired multiple shots, striking the four victims, Bereziuk said.
He said several people at the bar came from the Zen Lounge, where a memorial celebration was held for Carel Douse, who was murdered in May of last year at her home on East Avenue North.
The suspect is described as a black man in his 30s, about five-foot-10 tall, with a thin build and short braided hair. He was wearing dark jeans or pants and a track suit-style zip-up jacket.
Bereziuk said they are still trying to determine the relationship between the four victims. He said they have spoken to the two victims in the hospital, and they are cooperating with the investigation.
"We don't have a motive as to why this occurred," he said. "I don't know why these people were shot."
At this time, he said only one witness had come forward.
Bereziuk is appealing to people who were at the bar to speak to the police.
"I need your assistance," he said. "I am pleading to the people that were in (the bar). I do need their help."
"This type of violence is unacceptable in this city."
Bereziuk said he does not know why the bar was open at 5 a.m. and why it was serving alcohol at the time.
Speaking with CP24 on Sunday morning, one man who lives in the area and sometimes frequents the bar where the shooting took place said that he was shocked by the level of violence.
Bill Fischer said that while the neighbourhood surrounding the bar can be “rough,” he had “never seen any type of violence” inside its walls.
“I have never seen nothing like this,” he said. :It is an atrocity for something like this to even happen.”
No arrests have been made in connection with the shooting at this point.
The Hamilton Police Major Crime Unit is investigating.
Barton Street has been closed between Sherman and Birch avenues due to the ongoing investigation.
