Call centre employee confirmed as Dartmouth homicide victim
Posted Sep 2, 2016 12:08:39 PM.
Last Updated Sep 2, 2016 12:41:07 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX – Regional Police have confirmed the identity of a man killed early Thursday morning in Dartmouth who had called 911 to report he had been shot.
Rickey Walker, 48, called 911 around 2:52 a.m.Thursday and responding officers found him in a wooded area behind John McNeil Elementary School on Leaman Drive suffering from gunshot wounds.
Walker, confirmed by News 95.7 as an employee at the HGS Canada call centre on Brownlow Avenue, was immediately taken to hospital by EHS and pronounced dead.
Police were already treating the death as the region’s ninth homicide of 2016, which was confirmed by the Medical Examiner who performed an autopsy Thursday afternoon.
The autopsy also formally confirmed Walker’s identity to investigators and his next of kin have been notified.
Current and former employees at HGS confirmed to News 95.7 that Walker worked there for over ten years and one employee that didn’t want to be named said he “was such a kind heart to everyone,” in the three years that he had worked with him.
Walker’s death was hitting co-workers “extremely hard” Thursday, according to the same co-worker, who also believed Walker was not married and didn’t have children but that has yet to be confirmed.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment through their corporate media contact but a Facebook post from 2014 by the company shows Walker receiving an award for 10 years of service.
Halifax anti-violence activist Quentrel Provo also worked with Walker for a short time at HGS and called him, “one of the nicest you’d ever meet,” in a message to News 95.7.
Provo, founder of the group Stop The Violence, also remembered Walker in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon.
“#RIP #RickyWalker one of favorite [sic] from my time at HGS, great personality and always had some jokes,” the post reads. “Praying for your family and all those that knew you! You will be missed.”
In a different post, Provo also lamented the fact another person was dead in the region, the second murder in roughly a week in the area and another death that involved a gun.
“Let’s not wait until it’s too late…Our kids deserve to grow up in a less violent society. I’m beyond frustrated and this is beyond heartbreaking. Sending my condolences to this man’s family and my prayers and thoughts are with you all. STOP THE VIOLENCE will continue to grind to make a difference.”
Walker’s Facebook page indicates he was a Dartmouth High alumnus and the investigation into his death remains in its infancy, according to police, who have said it was too early too determine if his murder was a random act or if he knew those responsible.
Police have not released any descriptions of potential suspects and no arrests have been made.
Officers were on the scene of the school and surrounding area throughout the day Thursday, at one point, calling in Halifax Fire crews to facilitate a roof search of nearby Gerald B. Gray Memorial Arena.
Police remained on the scene Friday and in a release said they expected to remain on the scene in the area as long as it takes to complete their investigation.
Anyone with information regarding the murder of Walker is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
