One person has been arrested in connection with a homicide investigation following a report of a violent crime at a residence near Main Street Newmarket Sunday.
York Regional Police were called to the basement of a house at 415 Simcoe St. at Main.
“I can confirm that we are investigating a homicide and that one person has been taken into custody,” said Const. James Dickson. “Until the post mortem has been completed and the next of kin has been notified, we will not be providing further information.”
Residents in the area were left shaken by the incident.
Tonia G., who has lived in the house on the main floor with her children for five years, said she is scared.
“It’s scary when you see a whole bunch of cops swarming your house,” said Tonia, who requested partial anonymity for fear of retribution. “You’d think, ‘Who are they coming for? What happened? Did somebody die in our own house?’ If somebody died in the house, I would want to move right away.”
She was told by police she had to stay indoors while investigators were on the scene in the basement.
“I just want to be out of here,” said Tonia on Tuesday. “It has been long enough. It’s time to be out of here. I am not comfortable here anymore. I was supposed to go to church but they told me I couldn’t leave because it’s a situation here. They told me nobody in and nobody out until the time being.”
Michael Yacoub, a resident of 22 Main Street S., a house with multiple apartments beside the house where the incident occurred, said there were about seven police cars at the Circle K plaza beside them and then more on the street Sunday.
“There was police parked in the driveway all night long,” said Yacoub. “They did not leave.”
He saw a woman yelling and screaming at police, before walking away, crying.
Yacoub saw paramedics but said they did not enter the premises. He said police had put caution tape around the residence.
Lisa Quinn, another tenant at 22 Main, said police were in the area for quite a while. She saw police in suits and others in white jumpsuits.
“It was something to do with the back,” said Quinn. “There are three tenants. There is one upstairs, one downstairs, and one at the lower basement apartment. It was to do with the basement. Cops kept walking to the back part of the area.”
She said she feels terrified of Main Street recently, and often hears a lot of noise from the neighbouring Circle K plaza on Main, at Davis Drive.
“Recently, there has been a lot of not-good stuff happening on Main Street, especially at night time.”
Earlier this summer, on July 14, Blake Bibby, 36, died in hospital after police found him with stab wounds outside an apartment complex on Millard Avenue at Main Street South. Mckenzie Gill, 30, of Toronto was charged with second degree murder in connection to his death.
Police state Sunday's incident was isolated.
“Given the nature of this incident, it has been determined to be an isolated incident and there are no concerns for public safety,” said Dickson.
Tonia said the tenants in the basement have been living downstairs for less than a year and there have been "issues."
“We see people coming in and out, in and out, fighting. An ambulance is here all the time.”
An update will be provided when available.
