New details are emerging after Toronto police returned with a search warrant Sunday to the scene of a murder that took place in a Regent Park high-rise earlier in the week.
Tyson Bailey, 15, died after he was shot at 605 Whiteside Place in the Dundas Street and River Street area Friday.
On Sunday police searched a unit on the 13th floor visited by Tyson very shortly before he was shot, seizing a number of cell phones.
“He entered the apartment very shortly before shots rang out. We’ve confirmed that with the video surveillance system,” Det. Sgt. Justin Vander Heyden told CP24. “It looks like he attended the 13th floor with a person who’s associated with the apartment where we executed the search warrant on today.”
Following the shooting, police said there were two persons of interest, a black individual of about 25-30 years of age, and a tall, white, skinny individual. Vander Heyden said police have now confirmed that the first person described was in fact Bailey himself. The second person is one of the residents of the apartment and has been cooperating with police.
Vander Heyden also said police believe someone may have been lying in wait for Bailey.
“It certainly appears that way,” Vander Heyden said. “The timing of when Tyson came in the front door compared to the timing of the 911 call was a very short period of time, only a matter of minutes.
“It’s plausible that Tyson went to the 13th floor with this other male and there may have been somebody lying in wait in the stairwell because we know for a fact that Tyson was shot from the stairwell.”
While it isn’t clear why the teen visited the apartment that day, Bailey knew the four men who live there and was friendly with them, Vander Hayden said.
“We’ve now had the benefit of speaking to the family members. Tyson apparently was not feeling well that day and was not in school,” Vander Hayden said. “Having said that he’s familiar to the area.”
He also reiterated that Bailey was a well-liked boy at the Toronto high school he attended, who enjoyed football and had no known gang affiliations.
“His family is devastated by their loss,” Vander Heyden said. “They’ve managed to come forward and talk to us a bit about Tyson’s lifestyle to make sure that we continue to reinforce the fact that he was a good kid.”
On Sunday, the Toronto District School Board said it would be holding a press conference at Bailey’s school, Central Tech, at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Bailey’s principal and his football coach are scheduled to speak about the kind of person he was and how his death has affected the school community.
There are no suspects in the murder so far, police said.
