Police identify Toronto teen as victim of Hamilton homicide

Hamilton police have identified 19-year-old Natshon Defreitas of Toronto as the victim of an early morning homicide that happened during an after-hours party in the city's east end.

Officers were called to 470 Beach Road around 4 a.m. after reports of a shooting.

Defreitas was first transported to hospital by a group of people in a pickup truck, according to Staff Sgt. Steve Bereziuk. But along the way they met up with members of the Hamilton Fire Department near Dalhousie Avenue and Ottawa Street North.

He was then transferred to an ambulance and rushed to Hamilton General Hospital.

The teen was pronounced dead at hospital at about 6 a.m.

Bereziuk said the cause of death is a "suspected gunshot wound." Defreitas's death marks the sixth homicide in the city so far this year.

He added the investigation is still in its early stages, but "there was some sort of after-hours party or gathering going on."

A wide section of Beach Road was cordoned off with yellow police tape that stretched across two parking lots and the entrance to Martimas Avenue Sunday afternoon.

Police officers could be seen combing an overgrown alley and scouring one of the lots near a rusty, red dumpster. Bright, green evidence markers were scattered across the street.

Rick Raymond has lived around the corner from the scene for the past eight years and said it's a quiet area. He was awake around 4 a.m but didn't hear any gunshots.

The 58-year-old said the recent spate of shootings in Hamilton and the surrounding area have left him concerned.

"It's just getting worse," he said. "The guns and violence are just starting to float over from the U.S. and Toronto I think."

Investigators with the major crime unit are interviewing witnesses and asking anyone with information to contact them at 905-546-3874 or by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.