A seven-year-old boy is in hospital after a shooting at an east-end home in Hamilton.

Emergency crews were called to a residence on Gordon Street, in the area Barton Street East and Gage Avenue North, just before 8 p.m. for reports of a shooting.

Speaking to reporters at the scene, Deputy Chief Frank Bergen said police arrived two minutes after the first 911 call.

"They discovered that a seven-year-old male had been struck by a shot that had come from outside of the home," Bergen said.

Hamilton paramedics said the child was taken to a hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. Police later said the boy's condition has stabilized.

No suspect information has been released.

"This is unacceptable," Bergen said, adding that the boy is the city's first shooting victim of 2020.

“This is a time when our community has to stop and understand what the proliferation of guns are doing in our community.”

Investigators are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the incident to contact them.

"This is when the public needs to come together and make sure that if you've seen anything, you say something."