TRURO - Truro police are investigating a homicide following a brawl early Thursday morning in the town's east end.
"It wasn't a random act and we believe the parties were known to each other at this point, but we're not speculating on motive or anything at this point in time," Chief David MacNeil said yesterday.
Police were called to a multiunit apartment building at 67 Lyman St. at 2:12 a.m. after receiving several 911 calls about a large fight between multiple people.
A 26-year-old Truro man was killed but the chief would not say how. The deceased man was found outside the apartment building.
Police would not confirm the deceased man's identity Thursday as family members were still being notified. By late afternoon, a R.I.P. site was set up on Facebook for people to share memories.
Two other men were transported to hospital, including at least one who was stabbed.
The chief said no firearms were used but "several weapons" were recovered.
MacNeil said patrol officers discovered upon arriving at the scene that several people had fled the area. Seven people were located near the scene and taken into custody. No charges were laid yesterday.
"We do have several people of interest in custody at this point in time," MacNeil said at noon.
News travelled fast through the east-end community Thursday morning as people left for work.
Randy Williams was driving down the road from the top of Lyman Street when he saw the road barricaded only to find out someone had been killed in a fight.
"That's crazy," he said, "so close to home."
Darren Bergeron returned home around 8:30 a.m. Thursday after working the night shift to find yellow police tape marking the crime scene.
"It's kind of disheartening," he said, as he watched police speak with witnesses and look for clues.
Some in the community said you expect things like this to happen in big cities, but not in Truro.
"It's going to hit the town pretty hard," said one area resident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It's not a common thing."
The last homicide in Truro occurred in 2007 when Nora Bernard was killed by her grandson James Douglas Gloade.
Some community residents said drugs have been a problem in the neighbourhood while one woman told a CTV reporter, "it's dangerous to live here."
About 20 police officers were involved in yesterday's investigation. Truro police were assisted by New Glasgow major crime section and well as the RCMP's forensic identification section.
jmalloy@trurodaily.com
