Man and woman killed in double homicide, Hamilton police searching for suspect - Action News
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Hamilton

Man and woman killed in double homicide, Hamilton police searching for suspect

A man and woman are dead and police are searching for a suspect that's considered armed and dangerousafter a "targeted" shooting in Hamilton.

Investigators say David Thomson, 35, is considered armed and dangerous

Hamilton police say a man and woman are dead after a double homicide at a townhouse on the central Mountain. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

A man and woman are dead and police are searching for a suspect who'sconsidered armed and dangerousafter a "targeted" shooting in Hamilton.

Police were called to a townhouse onTowercrest Drive around midnight Saturday after a tip directing them to check in on the well-being of the people living there, according to Staff Sgt. Dave Oleniuk.

Inside officers found the bodies of anadult man and woman who had both been shot.

"Police believe the victims were targeted," he said during a media update Sunday afternoon.

Oleniuksaid police are not releasing the identities or ages of the victims, pending notification of next of kin, but he did say they were a man and his "female friend" who had both been living at the home at the time of the shooting.

Man
Police say David Thomson, 35, is a suspect in the double homicide. He's considered armed and dangerous. (Hamilton Police Service)

Investigators are searching for David Thomson, 35, who theydescribed as a white man standing about 6'1" tall with short dark hair. He may be driving a grey Dodge Ram pickup withthe licence plateAX70104.

"If you see him call 911 immediately. Do not try to stop him," said Oleniuk, adding Thomson has prior convictions for "violent criminal offences" and is considered "armed and dangerous."

Investigators are still working to determine when exactly the shooting happened, but believe it took place sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday.

On Sunday, a townhouse across the road from the Jerome Neighbourhood park was ringed in police tape and a forensic van was on scene. The home next door was still heavily covered in Halloween decorations.

MutluBilji lives just two doors down and said when she came home around 11 p.m. Saturday night there was no sign of police, but when she woke up Sunday she found the home surroundedby cruisers.

Bilji said an "older man" and a woman in her 20s lived there, adding her husband would often talk to him about their shared love of fixing things and tinkering.

Mutlu Bilji lives just two doors down from the house where the shooting happened. She said an older man lived there with a woman in her 20s. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

Just three days ago she and her kids made the house their first stop during their trick-or-treating and she told the man how nice it was to get a chance to see him.

"I am so sad," she said. "I'm just so sad."

Despite knowing about the homicide for hours, Oleniuksaid police made the decision not to publicly discuss the homicide publicly until Sunday afternoon in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.

"We knew there was no immediate threat to anybody else in the neighbourhood and I decided not to release that information," he explained.

A row of townhouses is surrounded by police tape and has police vehicles parked outside.
A corner townhouse was ringed in police tape Sunday. Investigators believe the shooting happened sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday. (Dan Taekema/CBC)

When asked about a truck that was reportedly towed from the scene with its tires slashed, he wouldonly say the vehicle is "part of the investigation."

Oleniuksaid "there is every reason to believe" Thomson is still armed and dangerous and that investigators in Hamilton have notified neighbouring police services to be on the lookout.

But, he added"no one else needs to fear anything in that neighbourhood."