Lockdown at Bernie Custis high school lifted after downtown Hamilton shooting

Police are investigating a shooting in downtown Hamilton Thursday that sent Bernie Custis Secondary School into lockdown for the second day in a row.

Officers responded around noon to a fight between two teenagers and two people in high-visibility vests at a bus shelter near King Street West and Caroline Street South.

Investigators say one of the teenagers fired a gun when the altercation escalated.

No one was injured as a result of the shooting.

READ MORE: Boy, 15, facing drug charges after lockdown at Bernie Custis high school

Hamilton police then received a tip that one suspect might have headed towards Bernie Custis Secondary School, prompting them to place the school under lockdown around 12:49 p.m.

Nearby Prince of Wales Elementary School was also placed in a hold-and-secure.

Investigators searched the school, but did not find the suspect.

Both the lockdown and hold-and-secure at the schools were lifted shortly after 2 p.m.

Bernie Custis Secondary school Lockdown has been lifted.
Prince of Wales Elementary School Hold and Secure is lifted. @HamiltonPolice officers continue to work through information that has been reported to police.

We ask that anyone, students, parents or any other member of… https://t.co/ur41C8imRR

— Hamilton Police (@HamiltonPolice) November 30, 2023

Const. Indy Bharaj says Thursday’s incident is not connected to Wednesday’s lockdown at Bernie Custis Secondary School.

On Wednesday, the high school and surrounding recreation facilities were placed into an hours-long lockdown just before 11 a.m. after police received reports of a potentially armed male suspect on school property.

The search led police to five individuals in a vehicle near the school, who were all taken into custody at that time, while the search for the weapon still believed to be on school grounds continued.

READ MORE: 2 teens charged after loaded gun, drugs seized in Hamilton

A 15-year-old male student at Bernie Custis Secondary School was arrested. He has been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking and proceeds of crime under $5,000.

Police say the four other people arrested were eventually released.

Anyone with information regarding Thursday’s shooting incident is asked to contact Sgt. David Brewster at 905-546-4067.