The Waterloo Regional Police Service believes organized crime may have played a part in a fatal Kitchener shooting.
A 32-year-old man was found with gunshot wounds on Century Hill Drive around 10 p.m. Monday.
“[He] was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Const. Melissa Quarrie said at a news conference on Tuesday morning.
The victim has only been identified as a Kitchener, Ont., man.
Witnesses also told investigators that a white SUV had hit a tree head-on at a home on Century Hill Drive.
Police confirmed the victim was shot inside a vehicle, they did not say whether it was the SUV at the scene.
“I did see the vehicle, I saw it when they were doing their forensics,” witness Shaundra Gardiner told CTV News. “I watched them tow the vehicle away, and the body. The coroner did take the body, and it was very hard [to watch].”
The shooting has been described as a targeted incident.
“We do believe there are connections to organized crime in this investigation,” said Quarrie.
No details were shared about the shooter or events leading up to the attack.
Neighbours believed the victim lived in the area.
“I’m not quite sure who the person is, but they do live in the complex,” Tracy Vaughan said.
“It was very hard… seeing the family mourn, and just not being able to walk outside without knowing that there might be someone still out here,” added Gardiner.
Witnesses, and anyone else with information or security video, is asked to contact Waterloo Regional Police at 519-570-9777, ext. 8191.
First fatal shooting of 2025
The incident on Century Hill Drive was Waterloo Region’s first fatal shooting of 2025.
In comparison, there had been 21 shootings reported in Waterloo Region by December 2024. Only four of those were fatal.
“This neighborhood is getting really bad. Before it was good and now is getting really bad,” Vaughan said. “It could have been one of us that got shot by accident if we were walking out here at 10 p.m. or 10:30. We could have got shot.”
According to Waterloo Regional Police, they investigated 17 shootings so far this year. Eight of them involved an injury and eight resulted in no reported injuries.
“We’ve had a spate of shootings in the region in the last couple of weeks; however, there’s no information at this time that suggests these incidents are connected,” Quarrie said.
In November, a shootout was caught on camera at the intersection of Bridgeport Road East and Weber Street North. Police said 51 shots were fired between two vehicles. They also believe someone was hurt during that incident.
Two days later, shots were fired at a home in the Fiddlesticks neighbourhood in Cambridge. No one was hurt. Police also released video from that incident in the hopes someone would recognize the vehicle.
“Putting them out there may prompt somebody’s mind, ‘That looks like so-and so. That looks like my neighbour’s car,’ or whatever the case,” explained Chris Lewis, a former OPP commissioner and public safety analyst for CTV News.
Shooting investigations, he added, have very specific challenges.
“Nine times out of 10, the people that are being shot at within homes or in cars know who exactly is shooting at them,” Lewis said. “So, their cooperation is key. If they’re involved in criminal activity, then, at times, they’re very reluctant to speak about that.”
“But let’s face it, if the police don’t find out who shot at them, they may be shot again,” he continued. “And next time they may not be able to talk about it.”
Homicide investigations
Police said the incident on Century Hill Drive was Waterloo Region’s fourth homicide of 2025, and also the only one involving a shooting.
The body of Elizabeth Spurgeon, a 36-year-old woman from Cambridge, was found at West River Road and Brant-Waterloo Road in North Dumfries on Sept. 12. Police said they continue to investigate her whereabouts in the days leading up to her death.
On Sept. 15, first responders were called to an apartment in the Cameron Street North and Weber Street South area of Kitchener. A 70-year-old man was declared dead and a 29-year-old woman was charged with second-degree murder.
A 44-year-old woman was also found dead at the Old Firehall Apartments on Highland Road West in Kitchener on Nov. 17. In that case, a 40-year-old woman was charged with first-degree murder.
While any loss of life is tragic, Lewis noted these incidents were not part of a bigger trend.
“Waterloo Region is a relatively safe place compared to a lot of other places in Canada, and certainly, by far, safer than most cities in the United States,” he said.
