Suspect arrested in fatal 2023 Pickering Casino shooting
Durham Regional Police located suspect outside Ontario more than two years after security guard Michael Ferdinand was shot and killed.
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Investigators with Durham Regional Police have made an arrest in connection with the fatal 2023 shooting of a security guard at Pickering Casino Resort. Officers were called to the entertainment complex around 5 a.m. on October 9, 2023, after a man identified as 24-year-old Michael Ferdinand was found with a life-threatening gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead in hospital.
Police issued a Canada-wide warrant approximately one month later for a then-17-year-old wanted for second-degree murder. In 2025, Crime Stoppers offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to the suspect's arrest.
On July 20, 2026, police said they "located a suspect connected to the Pickering Casino Resort homicide investigation, outside of Ontario. With the assistance of our out-of-province law enforcement partners, the suspect was successfully taken into custody." Police have not disclosed where outside the province the arrest took place and have not released the suspect's name since he was under 18 at the time of the alleged shooting.
The service statement said investigators are "working closely with these law enforcement partners and will pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that any individual sought in connection with this investigation is returned to the appropriate jurisdiction to face the charges against them." The investigation remains ongoing.
The facts
Who was killed in the Pickering Casino Resort shooting?
Michael Ferdinand, a 24-year-old security guard at Pickering Casino Resort, was shot and killed on October 9, 2023. He was found with a life-threatening gunshot wound around 5 a.m. and pronounced dead in hospital.
When was the suspect arrested?
On July 20, 2026, Durham Regional Police located the suspect outside Ontario and took him into custody with assistance from out-of-province law enforcement partners.
How much was the reward for information about the suspect?
Crime Stoppers offered a $25,000 reward in 2025 for information leading to the suspect's arrest in the Pickering Casino Resort homicide investigation.
