Police have confirmed that a man believed to have been murdered in Labrador City earlier today was shot by a man he knew.
But whether a gunshot wound was the cause of death remains to be officially determined by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
“I can tell you that a firearm was used in the commission of the offence ...,” RNC Const. Geoff Higdon told reporters this afternoon during a news conference at RNC headquarters in St. John’s.
“I can’t speak to the nature of the injuries that were sustained as part of this incident."
Officers from the Labrador City detachment responded to a residence on Pine Avenue at around 3 a.m. Thursday after receiving a report from another person that two men had been involved in an altercation.Thirty-year-old Vincent Ward is believed to have killed the man. Ward has been charged with first-degree murder and was due at provincial court in Labrador City this afternoon. Firearms related offences are also expected to be laid.
When officers arrived, they discovered a deceased male inside of the residence.
Ward, who was also in the house, was arrested and taken into custody.
Higdon said it is believed Ward and the victim knew each other, but he would not say how. He said the police believe there is no threat to public safety.
Criminal investigative teams from St. John’s and Corner Brook are in Labrador City to help with the investigation. Investigators are working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death as well as positively identify the victim.
Higdon didn’t say much else and couldn’t comment on a possible motive or the circumstances that led to the man’s death.
“The investigation is very much in its infancy,” Higdon said.
Police will spend the next few days conducting interviews in an attempt to piece together what happened.
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