Halifax Regional Police have a 24-year-old man in custody after a fight outside a New Year’s Eve party claimed the life of another man in his 20s.
Police say Nathaniel Welsh, 23, died Saturday at the QEII Health Sciences Centre after sustaining life-threatening head injuries during an altercation outside St. Mark’s Community Centre at 5540 Russell St.
Police spokeswoman Theresa Rath confirmed an autopsy was conducted later in the day, but the results have not been made public.
According to Rath, officers arrived on the scene to find Welsh unconscious shortly after 1 a.m. Friday morning.
“He was punched and then fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious,” Rath said.
“He was taken to hospital but he never regained consciousness, and sadly he passed away.”
Rath wouldn’t speculate as to what may have started the fight.
“We are treating this as a homicide investigation,” she added.
The man police arrested is also from Halifax. He turned himself in at HRP headquarters on Gottingen Street yesterday at about 6 p.m.
Rath said they were interviewing the suspect last night, with charges to possibly be announced later today.
Even with the arrest, police say they are continuing to seek witnesses to the assault.
Anyone with information about the fight who has yet to speak with police is asked to call 490-5016 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or online at crimestoppers.ns.ca.
1st in ’10
Nathaniel Welsh’s death marks the first homicide of the year in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
