Victim of fatal Flamborough, Ont. house party shooting identified

Weekend house party ends with fatal shooting Police have identified the man who was shot and killed minutes after leaving house party near Hamilton. Heather Senoran has the latest.

The man who was fatally shot along a Flamborough, Ont. highway this weekend has now been identified as Tobenna Obiaga, a 45-year-old man from Halton Region.

“He comes from a large, loving family,” Hamilton Police said at a news conference Tuesday. “They’re completely shocked and distraught over this. [Obiaga] has had no involvement with the police before and no one can understand, or explain why, something like this would happen to him.”

Police said it all began at a large house party, along Highway 6, early Sunday morning.

“There was an assault that occurred at the property and a disturbance involving at least four or five people, and then that continued down and onto the roadway as cars were starting to leave the party,” Det. Sgt. Daryl Reid said.

Shots were then fired at Obiaga’s vehicle, which was parked at the side of Highway 6, between Concessions 7 and 8.

“It is our belief, or our understanding, that he may have been trying to get in his vehicle to leave and go home,” Reid said.

Obiaga was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Moments after Obiaga was targeted, shots were fired at another vehicle that was stopped at a nearby gas station. Police confirmed there were two additional victims, but their injuries were non-life-threatening and they've since been released from hospital. Both were from the Greater Toronto Area.

A fourth person, a woman from the Greater Toronto Area, was hurt at the house party but had injuries that were not “gunshot-related.”

Witnesses, meanwhile, described a dark grey sedan fleeing the scene of the shootings at a high rate of speed.

“There is no other suspect description available at this time."

Anyone with information on the assault, or the subsequent shootings, is asked to contact police.

“We are aware that this was a large house party. Estimates are between 60 and 100 people attended this party,” Reid said. “When the shooting occurred, out on the roadway, many people fled through the woods behind the home, and we had to search that area with our canine officers to look for more victims. Many people went down the roadway on foot and left the area through various means. We’re just trying to track those people down.”

Investigators are still trying to piece together the motive for the shooting.

“To be quite honest with you, we have had a lack of cooperation from a number of people. We’re trying to encourage people to come forward to tell us. The best we know now is that there were a group of people inside the house that started a disturbance, that disturbance then carried back out down the laneway and onto the road,” Reid explained. “We do believe that the shooting itself was targeted at the people that were being shot at. Whether Mr. Obiaga was the intended victim, or a misidentification, we’re still looking into. But I feel confidant that the shooting at the car and the shooting at the gas station were intended to be shot at those vehicles.”

Police continue to guard the home and 13 of the vehicles left at the scene. All are expected to be searched Tuesday.

The house was a short-term rental but police said it was not rented through popular property apps or websites.

Witnesses and party-goers are asked to contact Det. Mike Ebert at 905-546-4167, or make an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or www.crimestoppershamilton.com.