UPDATE, 3:30 p.m.: A Toronto man and Brampton teenager have been arrested in connection with the armed kidnapping of a woman in Vaughan Tuesday.
A woman was standing outside a restaurant at Steeles Avenue and Yonge Street in Thornhill when she was grabbed by an armed man and forced into a grey SUV at about 11:10 p.m. Nov. 1, York Regional Police said.
When a passerby intervened, the suspect fired a shot at him and fled the scene in the SUV driven by another suspect, police said.
On the following day, investigators tracked the victim to an address in the area of Janine Street and Cundles Road East in Barrie, where the neighbourhood was shut down during the heavy police response.
Officers located the victim at the residence, where she was being held by the suspects, police said. She was taken to hospital with injuries and later released.
Keyron Mark Moore, 36, of Toronto is charged with: attempted murder; sexual assault with a weapon; party to sexual assault; kidnapping; forcible confinement; discharge a restricted firearm or prohibited firearm with intent; and use of firearm during commission of an indictable offence.
A 17-year-old Brampton teenager is charged with: party to sexual assault; kidnapping; forcible confinement; and fail to comply with a judicial release order.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the homicide unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7865, or [email protected], or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS, or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.
— Debora Kelly
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Details on the heavy York Regional Police presence in Barrie’s north end Wednesday afternoon remain scant, but the scene has been cleared.
Wednesday’s police activity on Daphne Crescent, near Cundles Road, is long over but YRP Const. Maniva Armstrong said today that she cannot provide any details but added, “Hopefully sometime today, after working on updates with the investigators, there will be something to share with everyone soon.”
Residents on Daphne said the incident began around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday and BarrieToday saw police bring out at least two people in handcuffs around 4:30 p.m.
By 5:30 p.m., the north end neighbourhood showed no signs of a heavy police presence aside from two Barrie police vehicles.
The home in question was the focus of a York Regional Police investigation that stemmed from a weapons call just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday in the area of Steeles Avenue and Yonge Street.
A resident who said she lived “a few houses down” from the incident in Barrie said she had dropped off her daughter at school, did some grocery shopping and came home to see a “big SWAT-looking vehicle parked up in front of the house and cops everywhere.”
“I couldn’t go to my house. The officer stopped me right where the bend on Daphne is and said I needed to stay back for my safety,” said the woman who didn’t want to be named. “I’m lucky I have lived here for over 25 years and know people so I had a place to sit.”
A hold and secure at nearby Cundles Heights Public School was initiated at 12:42 p.m. and lifted at 1:35 p.m.
At one point on the street, there were two York Regional Police command post units, at least one K9 unit, several tactical teams, multiple unmarked and marked police vehicles and a SWAT vehicle in the driveway of the house in question.
Barrie police communications co-ordinator Peter Leon said yesterday the investigation was being led by “an outside police service.”
Around 3:07 p.m., an officer moved toward the house with a dog catching device.
Officers started alerting onlookers to start moving back and one Barrie police officer got out of his vehicle to monitor resident activity closer.
Tactical officers periodically had their guns pointed toward the house.
A woman just returning from work was screaming into a phone that she lived in the basement and couldn't get to her pets. She was taken aside and calmed down by investigators while answering questions.
More details will be provided as they become available.
