Kingston, Ontario man charged with murder in connection with camp killings

A 47-year-old man was charged with suspected murder and attempted murder in connection with the killings at a homeless camp on Thursday, according to police in Kingston, Ontario.

They say the defendant from Kingston is still in custody after appearing in court on Friday afternoon.

Police also identified the victims as 38-year-old Taylor Wilkinson and 41-year-old John Hood, both of Kingston.

They were killed following a violent attack at a camp next to a Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site and the Integrated Care Hub (ICH).

A third person was also injured in the attack and was said to be in critical condition on Thursday. The police did not provide any further information about the third victim.

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Shortly before 11 a.m., police were called to the Montreal Street encampment after an attack was reported.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found the three victims and a man who was considered a suspect, according to police.

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The suspect then barricaded himself in a wooded area across the street from ICH while the police negotiated his surrender.

““Our goal was to end this peacefully and without incident,” said Const. Anthony Colangeli. “And that's what we did. We knew it would take some time, but we were willing to invest that time to make sure this ended peacefully.”

The police did not provide any further information about the victims. They only said that two of them had died and a third was in hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Her injuries were caused by a “sharp weapon and a blunt object.”

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Shortly before the suspect was taken into custody, Kingston Mayor Bryan Paterson issued a statement on social media saying he was “appalled by the unfolding situation” and calling the incident “a completely senseless act of violence.”

He also called for the closure of the CTS and the evacuation of the camp.

“We as a city have been talking about the dangers of this encampment in and around the safe injection site for three years,” the mayor wrote in his statement. “There are partners and community advocates who have fought the city in every attempt to clear this encampment and ensure the public safety of those living there.”

“We must clear the camp, close this safe injection site and ICH until we find a better way to support our most vulnerable residents and work with the province to provide treatment and housing solutions.”

John Done, one of the lawyers who represented the camp residents during the legal battle with the city to close the camps, said Paterson's “comments are premature and misguided.”

“How this tragedy unfolded is the subject of an ongoing police investigation. At this stage, there is no evidence that the safe injection site, Integrated Care Hub and homeless encampment played a role in this tragedy,” he noted. “The location of these events may be important, but they may also be proxies for other issues, namely opioid addiction, mental illness and homelessness.”

“Hasty judgments were wrong. It would have been better to wait for a comprehensive investigation.”

ICH issued a statement on Thursday expressing its “deep sadness” over the incident and saying it would remain closed for several days.

“This is an active police investigation and to assist with the ongoing investigation, we have been asked to temporarily close services at the Integrated Care Hub (ICH) at 661 Montreal Street,” the statement said.

“This closure will take effect immediately and is expected to last for a few days.”

*With files from Paul Soucy of Global News

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