Saskatoon records near-record 15 homicides in 2024

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On pace at the midway point of the calendar to shatter the city’s record for homicides in one year, Saskatoon narrowly avoided setting a new dubious standard.

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With a new year upon the community, Saskatoon police in 2024 reported 15 homicides, one off the current record of 16 set in 2019.

Saskatoon police Chief Cam McBride, in 2024, said a rise in Saskatoon’s crime severity index was driven mostly by violent crime, and that it reflects “the same struggles” other police departments are experiencing across the country.

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“I have the benefit of communicating with chiefs from all across Canada, and … I can tell you that Saskatoon’s struggles are not in isolation,” McBride said.

Officers on the front-line in Saskatoon have said the same thing, McBride said.

“There seems to be a high propensity to use violence on the streets,” he added.

The year started ominously, with five homicides between Feb. 3 and 19. Then, over two days on April 15-16, three homicides were reported. By the end of June, 11 homicides had been declared in the city.

In the last six months of 2024, however, the pace slowed down and just four more homicides were recorded.

While the total didn’t surpass the total reached in 2019, the number of homicides increased from 12 in 2023, 13 in 2022, seven in 2021 and 12 homicides in 2020.

A look at Saskatoon homicides in 2024:

— The first of the year was a 25-year-old Alberta man whose body was found in a home in the 600 block of Lisgar Avenue in the early hours of Feb. 3. Officers executing a search warrant related to an aggravated assault investigation involving firearms discovered the body. A 34-year-old Saskatoon man, a 32-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man are charged with first-degree murder.

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— On Feb. 9, a 48-year-old Saskatoon man died of a gunshot wound. A 21-year-old Saskatoon man is charged in that case.

— The third homicide involved a 48-year-old man who died in hospital from a gunshot wound on Feb. 17. Last month, first-degree murder charges were laid against three men, ages 34, 36 and 37.

— The fourth took place on Feb. 19. According to police, officers responded around 2 p.m. to a report of a man stabbed in the 200 block of 20th Street West. A 24-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder.

— In the city’s fifth homicide, a 12-year-old boy was shot on Feb. 19. Police charged a 12-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy with manslaughter. They can’t be identified under provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. Both boys also face weapons-related charges.

— A 42-year-old woman was charged with criminal negligence causing death after the body of a one-year-old boy was found at a home in the 100 block of Avenue T South. Police responded to the home on March 9 after a report of a sudden death.

— The seventh and eighth homicides were unrelated but took place mere hours apart:

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Officers responded on April 15 around 11:20 a.m. to the 3200 block of 33rd Street West after reports of an insecure property and found a woman dead in the basement. They confirmed her identity: 24-year-old Melissa Duquette.

Barely 13 hours later on April 16, officers responded around 12:50 a.m. to reports of a shooting in the 200 block of Avenue O South. They found a 25-year-old man with a gunshot wound. He was rushed to Royal University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His mother identified him as Kade Lee, 25.

— The city’s ninth homicide resulted from an assault at a home on Chandler Place on April 15 around 4 a.m. A 30-year-old man was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

— A 29-year-old man died from his injuries after a stabbing in the 800 block of 22nd Street West on June 3.

— The 11th homicide occurred in the 400 block of Forrester Road in the early morning of June 12. A 66-year-old man was found with life-threatening injuries in a parking lot next to Fairhaven School. He died in hospital a short time later.

— The 12th homicide was recorded on Aug. 16; 30-year-old Jordan Lee Morin’s remains were found on the property of a home in the 200 block of Avenue I South. Police were responding to information indicating someone had been injured there.

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Four people have been charged in connection with Morin’s death. A 37-year-old man was charged with second-degree murder and indecently interfering with and offering an indignity to human remains. A 28-year-old man is charged with second-degree murder. A 24-year-old woman and a 27-year-old woman are charged with being accessories after the fact.

— A 16-year-old boy and 36-year-old woman are each charged with first-degree murder in the city’s 13th homicide. A 20-year-old woman, Jordanna Kucher, died in a parking lot in the 1300 block of Eighth Street East on Nov. 15. The names of the accused and the victim were not released.

— In connection with the city’s 14th homicide, a 45-year-old man was arrested and charged with manslaughter. A 37-year-old man died in hospital after police found him injured in the 400 block of 26th Street West on Nov. 17. The names of the accused and the victim were not released, though police said they knew each other.

— Charges have yet to be laid in connection with the 15th homicide of 2024. On Dec. 18 around 7:30 p.m., members of the Saskatoon police guns and gangs unit, along with the tactical support unit, executed a search warrant at a home in the 1700 block of 22nd Street West, where the body of a male was found. Three men and one woman were taken into custody for questioning but were later released without charges.

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ANNUAL HOMICIDES IN SASKATOON

2024: 15

2023: 12

2022: 13

2021: 7

2020: 12

2019: 16

2018: 13

2017: 5

2016: 10

2015: 7

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