Shariek Douse

Shariek Douse was an 18-year-old male with bigger dreams and aspirations who, according to a friend, put family and friends above all else. His cousin remembered him as a good kid who had been in the choir growing up. He was a great kid who loved to play basketball, another friend recalled. His death left his family reeling with grief. "How is my family being buried?" his cousin Jakayla Douse posted online in the hours after his murder. "What... is this world coming to? Put the guns down."

On the evening of Wednesday, August 12, 2015, the sound of gunfire broke the quiet in Hamilton's North End. At around 8:30 p.m., multiple 911 calls reported shots fired at the Jamesville housing complex, a residential area situated between MacNab Street North and James Street North. Callers also reported that a young man was down. When Hamilton Police Service officers and paramedics arrived, they found Shariek Douse suffering from a gunshot wound. He had no vital signs and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooting happened in a busy residential area, and several people heard the shots. Witnesses reported hearing three gunshots before seeing a teenager running from the scene. Numerous 911 callers gave police a similar description of a person fleeing the area immediately after the shooting: a Black male, estimated to be between 15 and 17 years old, wearing a red shirt. As police cordoned off the area to conduct their investigation, an emotional crowd gathered. Some family and community members expressed anger and frustration that Shariek's body was left at the scene for hours during the initial forensic examination.

The investigation into Shariek's murder was launched by the Hamilton Police Service. In the immediate aftermath, police could not say whether the shooting was targeted or gang-related. However, the homicide carried a disturbing echo of a previous act of violence. Friends and family told reporters that Shariek had been shot and wounded in the same housing complex just nine months earlier, in November 2014. While police did not publicly confirm a link between the two shootings, the prior incident raised questions about whether Shariek had been targeted. Investigators also looked into whether a conflict on social media might have escalated into real-world violence, a trend police acknowledged was on the rise at the time.

In the days following the killing, Hamilton's police chief, Glenn De Caire, urged the community to come forward with information. "We need to stand up as a community," he said. "We need to find the intestinal fortitude – the backbone – to stand up and say enough is enough." Police have stated that Shariek's friends and family cooperated with the investigation, but they believe others in the community hold key information. Investigators have also noted that witnesses are often reluctant to speak out due to fear of retaliation, but that with the passage of time, allegiances can shift and those fears may fade.

As of August 2026, more than a decade after Shariek Douse was killed, his homicide remains an open and unsolved case with the Hamilton Police Service. No arrests have ever been made, and the fundamental questions of who killed him and why remain unanswered. The teenager seen fleeing the complex that night would now be in his mid-to-late twenties. Police continue to seek information from the public that could finally bring justice for Shariek and his family. Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to contact the Hamilton Police Service Major Crime Unit at 905-546-3829.