Trail RCMP are investigating a homicide after a 26-year-old Trail resident with fatal injuries was brought to Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead Sunday.
“We know that there was a physical altercation (in Trail) and as a result of the injuries sustained, the victim was taken to the hospital,” said Cpl. Dave Johnson.
Trail RCMP are not releasing the name of the victim and are providing limited information at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.
A 17-year-old Trail resident, known to the police, has been arrested in relation to the homicide and charges are pending.
“We were called to the hospital and the two men that had brought him there were still present when we arrived,” said Johnson, adding that police soon realized that these men were involved in the incident. “Now the time frame as to when the call came in and how close we were, I’m not aware.”
Further investigation revealed that one of the Trail residents, who is 21 years old, was a witness to the altercation while the other 17-year-old was arrested in relation to the homicide and is still in custody pending a court appearance.
“Since we’re dealing with a youth suspect, it’s probably unlikely that we’ll be releasing the victim’s name through the media in that (the victim and suspect) shared a location and it would be a possibility of identifying the youth suspect, which we can’t have,” said Johnson, referring to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
“The key point is that these two are known to each other, it’s an isolated incident, it’s not a random incident,” said Johnson. “There never was really any danger to the public throughout this, and though it’s tragic, the danger to the public was and is very low.”
The last homicide case in Trail was the death of Santo Villella on Nov. 25 2009 in Warfield. That case is still under investigation.