Two teens arrested near scene of fatal shooting at York prom after party

Two teens arrested after fatal prom party shooting The teens were arrested near the scene of the shooting and have been charged with numerous firearm offences.

One person is dead after a shooting at a prom after party in Whitchurch-Stouffville, police say.

The shooting happened inside a large residence on Bloomington Road near Highway 48 at around 4 a.m.

Police have said that they were initially called to the address for a report of someone shot in the head. The victim, believed to be a high school-aged male, was located in an upstairs bedroom without vital signs. He was pronounced dead on scene.

Sources say that the home where the shooting took place was being rented as an Airbnb for $700 a night.

Most of the people attending the party left the area before police arrived, leaving only the person who had rented the residence to speak with investigators.

Police have estimated that “at least a couple hundred” people were gathered at the house at some point.

“There was a party going on here overnight but when our officers arrived everyone had left the scene, so our appeal at this point in time is for anybody who was here overnight to please come forward,” Const. Andy Pattenden told reporters at the scene on Friday morning. “We know there were people here, we know there are people who probably heard what happened or saw what happened and we need them to contact us right away.”

CP24 has learned the after party hosted at the home may be connected to Bill Crothers Secondary School in Unionville.

Several students told CP24 that they attended the party at the home but left at about 2:30 a.m. when uninvited people who do not attend Bill Crothers Secondary School started to show up.

Police were seen at Bill Crothers on Friday afternoon.

Two individuals arrested nearby

About 30 minutes after police received a 911 call about the shooting, they were dispatched to an area just south of the scene on Bethesda Road for a suspicious person call.

Pattenden said that that police were told that two individuals were knocking on the doors of houses in the area and asking residents to call them a taxi. When officers arrived on scene, Pattenden said that they found the two individuals “hiding in bushes” and took them into custody. He said officers also located a handgun in the area.

In a news release issued on Friday afternoon, police said that a 16-year-old male and a 17-year-old male are both charged with possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm with ammunition, tampering with a serial number on a firearm and breach of recognizance.

It remains unclear whether the teens in custody have anything to do with the shooting.

“At this point it is far too early to tell if these two scenes or these two incidents are connected to each other, however given the reasonably close proximity obviously our homicide detectives are looking to see whether they are,” Pattenden said earlier in the day.

Police still working to ID victim

The home where the shooting took place is set back from the street by more than 100 metres and occupies a lot that at least several acres in size.

On Friday morning, a huge perimeter was set up around the home and dozens of officers and investigators could be seen in the area.

Pattenden said that due to the scale of the property, forensic officers “have a lot of work ahead of them.”

He said that police are also still working to identify the victim.

“Our investigators are moving as quickly as they can here,” he said.