Ontario’s police watchdog is continuing its investigation today into a shooting at a home north of Toronto that left two officers and a young man dead.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) says the South Simcoe police officers died in hospital and the 23-year-old man died at the home after an exchange of gunfire Tuesday night in Innisfil, Ont.
A spokesperson for the watchdog says police were called to the home by family members at the residence and that an autopsy for the young man is scheduled for Friday.
The South Simcoe Police Service has identified the officers as Const. Devon Northrup — who worked with outreach and mental health teams — and Const. Morgan Russell, a trained crisis negotiator.
A vigil was held Wednesday night at the Innisfil Community Church to honour the lives of the officers.
“We want to be able to bring community together so the healing process can begin,” said lead pastor Steve Bradley.
“We know it’s going to be a long journey, and we know we don’t have the answers for why things like this happen, but what we do have is community and we can help provide that in a tangible way, like opening our up our doors.”
Mark Baxter, president of the Police Association of Ontario, said the deaths of the police officers have sent shockwaves through the policing community.
“It’s a tremendous loss for our entire policing family,” Baxter told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Thursday.
“We may really never understand or know the ‘why’ … but hopefully investigators can get some more information and some more background that maybe can give the families and the officers’ colleagues some closure.”
Residents who live in the area have expressed shock at what happened and have said an elderly couple who had an adult grandson lived in the house where the shooting took place.
The SIU said it will not be releasing the suspect’s identity at this time without permission from his family.
However, the Toronto Star and The Canadian Press are reporting a “source close to the investigation” has identified the suspect as Christopher Doncaster, although CBC News has not independently confirmed that information.
Baxter said he felt a sense of disbelief that this is happening again in the province. Northrup and Russell are the third and fourth police officers to be killed in Ontario in the last month.
On Sept. 12, Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong was killed in what police called an “ambush” during a series of shootings that killed two others and wounded three more.
On Sept. 14, York Regional Police Const. Travis Gillespie died at the scene of a head-on car crash.