Long yellow strands of police tape surrounded a large home in North Preston yesterday, fluttering in the chilly morning wind as members of the RCMP Major Crime Unit began their investigation into another suspicious death in the small community.
Officers were sent to the modern, three-storey home at 1166 Downey Rd. just before 6:30 a.m. in response to two separate 911 calls.
“They were both weapons complaints,” said RCMP spokeswoman Const. Tamu Bracken. “When (officers) arrived on scene, it was confirmed that there was one male deceased inside the residence.”
Bracken would not release any information about the type of weapon involved in the incident, the age of the victim or the cause of death. She would also not say if the calls came from the home where the body was found.
As of yesterday afternoon, police had not identified any suspects and no arrests had been made in connection with the death.
“The investigation is still in the early stages,” Bracken said, standing on the road in front of the home, which is set back about 100 metres from the road.
At least five police cars were parked near the house throughout the morning, and officers walked up and down the street knocking on doors and speaking to people who had gathered on their lawns to watch the proceedings.
No one in the traditionally tight-lipped community would speak to the media.
Bracken said there were several people inside the home when police arrived, but would not say exactly how many, or what their relationship was to the victim.
“The Major Crime Unit will be speaking to everyone who was inside the home at the time of the incident,” she said.
The death comes on the heels of a series of gun-related incidents in North Preston over the past several months. The last one occurred in early December, when a 19-year-old man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after being shot in his car on Cain Street.
