The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) says it has opened an investigation after a 34-year-old Toronto woman was fatally shot in a halfway house in the city’s east end on Sunday.
The man charged with first-degree murder in the death of Alisha Brooks was on statutory release from prison, serving the last third of a three-year sentence for charges including assault, breaking and entering and possession of a weapon contrary to a prohibition order, the federal agency says.
In an email Tuesday, CSC did not confirm the 33-year-old accused lived at the community residential facility — more commonly known as a halfway house — but did say the shooting happened at the home on Jones Avenue.
Halfway houses are typically facilities or residences where criminal offenders stay under supervision while they try to re-integrate into the community.
“While it is not common for such an incident to occur at a Community Residential Facility, it is a serious and tragic incident and it is important that it be thoroughly reviewed to fully examine the circumstances around what happened,” a CSC spokesperson said.
“To this end, CSC has launched an investigation and will not hesitate to implement any measures, as determined necessary, to further enhance public safety.”
Police were initially called to the home just after 7 p.m. Sunday. Responding officers found Brooks outside with gunshot wounds. She was taken to hospital, where she died a short time later.
The accused was arrested at the scene and a firearm was also recovered, according to police. Brooks and her alleged killer were known to each other, police added.
Statutory release, which is mandated by law, means that some federal offenders serve the last third of a fixed-length sentence while living in a community under the supervision of the CSC. The CSC spokesperson said statutory release is part of the agency’s effort to “safely reintegrate” offenders.