N.S. boosts cash reward for information in boy's shooting death to $250,000

Lee'Marion Cain was shot and killed in Dartmouth, N.S. on Dec. 21, 2021. He was just eight years old.

Nova Scotia’s unsolved crimes program is offering its largest reward ever for information in the case of a little boy shot and killed in Dartmouth in December.

The provincial Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program typically offers up to $150,000 for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in cases under the program.

This time, the province is offering $250,000 for information that leads to a conviction in the homicide of eight-year-old Lee'Marion Cain of North Preston, N.S.

This is the first time the Nova Scotia government has increased the reward under the program.

Cain was inside a vehicle on Windmill Road on Dec. 21, 2021, when shots were fired from another vehicle shortly after 4 p.m.

Cain was struck and taken to the IWK Health Centre, where he died from his injuries.

A 26-year-old man inside the vehicle was also struck, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

At the time of the shooting, police said they were looking for two Black men who had been driving a burgundy SUV with tinted windows.

Investigators don’t believe the shooting was a random incident.

"Acts of gun violence in our community are both troubling and heartbreaking. When it results in the death of an innocent child, it is devasting," said Justice Minister Brad Johns in a news release.

"It is my hope that increasing the reward for this case will make those with information come forward to police so they can identify those responsible and allow Lee'Marion's family and friends to heal. Now is the time for anyone with information to come forward so this horrendous crime can be solved."

Police believe there are people who have information that could lead to arrests and charges in the boy’s death and they are urging those people to come forward.

Anyone with information about the death of Lee'Marion Cain can call the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090. People who come forward must provide their name and contact information and may be called to testify in court. All calls are recorded.

Anonymous tips can also be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

The Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program launched in 2006, with a reward of $50,000. That amount increased to $150,000 in 2008.

There are 106 active cases in the program and five cash rewards have been paid out since the program started.