Saskatoon police questioning suspect in downtown homicide

Saskatoon police say they havea suspect in one of the city's two homicides that took place over the weekend.

On Friday night, police found an injured man in a hallway of a downtown apartment on the 200 block of Fifth Avenue N.The man was transported to hospital, where he died.

"We do have a suspect in the Fifth Avenue homicide at this point, so we are in the processof questioning that individual. It's a long process in many cases," said police spokesperson Alyson Edwards.

Although the suspectis being questioned, they have not been arrested or charged.

That homicide was the first of two that happened in less than 24 hours over the weekend.

A 23-year-old man died after being found injured in an apartment on the 200 block of Avenue V Southon Saturday. So far, police have not released details on any suspects in that case.

But Edwards says while homicides were isolated and not related, Saskatoon police continue to have concerns about growing levels of violence in the city.

"The overall climate of escalating violence I would say and the incidents in general are increasing and that is concerning. Saskatoon is not a small city anymore," she said.

The weekend slayings bring the city's homicide total this year to eight. There were five homicides in Saskatoon during 2017.

Edwards says the use of crystal meth and other drugs in fuellingviolence in the city.

So far there have been no arrests in either homicide.