Woman in her 70s dead, man charged after fight in Brampton, police say

A woman in her 70s has died and a man has been charged with second-degree murder after a fight broke out in Brampton on Tuesday morning, said police.

Police responded to calls about a fight at Centre Street and Queen Street around 12:30 a.m.

At the scene, two people were found with serious injuries and one person was dead, said Peel Regional Police in a statement. 

In an email Tuesday afternoon, Const. Sarah Patten said the deceased was a woman in her 70s, and the two people injured in the fight are being treated in hospital. Paramedics said the injuries are minor.

One man has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault in connection with the incident, Patten said.

Police said the incident was isolated and there is no threat to public safety.

Anyone with video or information is requested to reach out to Peel's homicide bureau or Peel Crime Stoppers. 

Neighbours say accused was mentally unstable

Several neighbours in the area told CBC Toronto that the accused had problems with alcohol and his mental health and had a history of threatening people on the street, sometimes with weapons like sticks and pitchforks.

They said the man had been arrested for animal abuse earlier in the week, and they believed the attack Tuesday was intended as a retaliation on the woman who had reported him.

"I think it was all about revenge," said Anthony Christopher Melendy, who said he lives below the two people who were sent to hospital.

Melendy and others said one of the people injured Tuesday had reported the accused earlier in the week to animal services, alleging he was abusing a puppy he owned.

Neighbours said the man had been arrested, but was released one or two days before the alleged attack Tuesday. They said he attacked the woman who'd called animal services, and then injured her boyfriend when he tried to intervene.

"He gets drunk, he gets belligerent, and he just goes crazy," said Melendy. "I guess the puppy was something that he loved and was taken from him, so I guess he went over the edge this time."

Neighbours said the woman killed in the incident ran the local laundromat, and they had no idea how she became involved.

Neighbour Jackie Sweetland said she didn't know her well, but she was kind and sociable and "seemed like a really nice lady." 

"She didn't deserve it at all," Sweetland said. "He was just crazy."

Sweetland said she often spoke with the woman at the laundromat, and she'd mentioned in the past that the accused was abusing his dog. She said the accused was often erratic and threatening to neighbours.

"I just really thought nothing of it. I didn't think he would actually do it," she said.

Police have not provided a possible motive or details about the accused.