A man believed to be in his mid-20s is dead after a large disturbance that broke out inside a Belvedere apartment spilled into the street early Wednesday morning.
“I’m very, very shocked, and very sad for the situation,” says Alex Pederson, who lives in the area.
Police were called to the building at 129th Avenue and 64th Street just after 1 a.m. following reports of a disturbance involving five or six people.
“When we arrived,” explains EPS Inspector Brian Nowlan, “we found one male, deceased, appears to be in his mid 20's. He's got obvious trauma to the body; we're still trying to piece things together. Homicide is involved, they're taking over the investigation - but we're calling it a suspicious death at this time.”
The man’s body was found on the curb outside.
“There's evidence there was a fight inside,” says Insp. Nowlan. “There's evidence the fight spilled outside. The call we initially got was that there was a disturbance taking place on the street out in front.”
“The area here is actually quite safe,” says Pederson, “but I do see a lot of aggressive young people that cause trouble, out looking for trouble.”
There’s no word yet on when an autopsy will be conducted, and police continue to look for suspects.
“We won't know the cause of death until an autopsy has taken place,” says Insp. Nowlan. “We're still combing the area to see whether or not there were any suspects or witnesses involved, a number of witnesses have been transported downtown and are being questioned as I speak.”
If this suspicious death is confirmed as homicide, it will be Edmonton’s eighth this year.
“It’s just really unbelievable that people this young succumb to these circumstances,” Pederson adds. “I feel sad, very sad for the situation, for the family, for him. He had a whole life ahead of him, and it just ends like this suddenly, it’s just unbelievable.”
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