Supervised consumption site near Ontario fatal attack set to stay closed for investigation

The only supervised consumption site in Kingston, Ont., will stay temporarily closed while the city says it carries out a review of its operations and security after two people were killed in a nearby attack.

In a news release this week, the City of Kingston says “substantive operational changes” need to be made at the Integrated Care Hub.

The city says the hub’s services are “crucial to support the most vulnerable in our community and it will reopen and reopen safely.”

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Police say officers were called on Sept. 12 to a nearby encampment where they allege a 47-year-old male suspect wielded an edged or blunt weapon and attacked three people, killing two and injuring one.

The suspect is facing two counts of second-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. Police have said he was not living at the encampment, but at a residence nearby.

Mayor Bryan Paterson quickly called for the encampment to be cleared and the hub closed, a move denounced by a community legal clinic as premature and misguided.

The city says it will leave up a security fence blocking access to the Belle Park encampment and police will keep a presence in the area.

The city says further information will be provided when a reopening date is confirmed.

The move comes after the Ontario government announced last month it would close 10 supervised consumption sites by no later than March 2025 and prohibit any new ones from opening.