Second-degree murder charge laid in 2023 killing of Pickering casino guard

Durham Regional Police have charged a 20-year-old man with second-degree murder in the 2023 shooting death of a security guard at Pickering Casino Resort. The accused was 17 at the time, so he cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

Police said the man had been wanted on a Canada-wide warrant. He was arrested in Saskatoon and returned to the custody of the Durham Regional Police Service on July 29. Police announced an out-of-province arrest the week before without further details, then made the murder charge public on Friday, July 31.

Investigators twice obtained judicial authority in late 2025 to identify the suspect publicly for a limited time while he was being sought. Durham police said officers from the Saskatoon police, Calgary, Vancouver and the RCMP also took part in the investigation.

The 2023 shooting

Michael Ferdinand, 34, was working as a security guard at the casino near Brock Road and Highway 401 when he was shot early on Oct. 9, 2023, Thanksgiving Monday. Emergency crews were called just after 5 a.m. after reports of shots fired.

Officers found him inside with gunshot wounds and tried to save him. He was taken to a Toronto-area trauma centre, where he died. The casino was evacuated and closed while police investigated.

At the time, police said a group of male and female suspects fled immediately after the shooting, and that the shooting did not appear to be targeted. Sgt. Joanne Bortoluss said Ferdinand had been "doing his job" when he became involved with the people who shot him.

In November 2023, Durham police announced a Canada-wide warrant for a 17-year-old boy on a charge of second-degree murder in the case.

The charge has not been proven in court. Police are asking anyone with information to call investigators at 1-888-579-1520, or to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously.