The Nova Scotia government says it is offering its biggest reward in history of its unsolved crimes program for the death of North Preston’s Lee-Marion Cain.
Cain was just eight years old when he was killed in a brazen shooting in Dartmouth on Dec. 21, 2021.
Now the province is offering $250,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals involved in the shooting. That amount is $100,000 more than the current maximum allowed for other cases.
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Back in December, Halifax Regional Police said the child was in a vehicle with a 26-year-old man when shots were fired at their vehicle in the area of Windmill Road and Waddell Avenue.
The shooting happened at 4 p.m., in the busy commercial and industrial area. Police said the suspects were described as two Black men driving a burgundy SUV, possibly a Chevrolet, with tinted windows.
Lee-Marion died in hospital from his injuries, while the man was treated for non life-threatening injuries.
The boy was a Grade 3 student at Nelson Whynder Elementary School, and had already made a huge impression on his tight-knit community of North Preston.
After his death, his cousin and CEO of North Preston’s Future Miranda Cain said it wasn’t just their family that was grieving — it felt like the whole community lost a child.
“We lost a big, very valuable person who would have contributed so much to our community had his life been spared,” she said in December of 2021.
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The province said in a Wednesday release this is the first time that an unsolved crimes reward has been increased for a specific case. There are currently 106 active cases in the program.
Justice Minister Brad Johns said in the release he hopes the reward will make those with information on the homicide come forward to police.
“Acts of gun violence in our community are both troubling and heartbreaking. When it results in the death of an innocent child, it is devastating,” Johns said.
“Now is the time for anyone with information to come forward so this horrendous crime can be solved.”
The province asks those with information on the death of Lee-Marion Cain to call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090.
— With files from Rebecca Lau.