Investigation into fatal shooting of 2 police officers in Innisfil, Ont., continues
CBC
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.
A group of business owners and sealers is hoping to take advantage of the abundance of seals present on and around Quebec's Magdalen Islands.
A long-serving United Church minister is preparing to leave his pulpit, adding pressure at a time when filling vacancies has become increasingly difficult.
Garrett Hawkins is on the cusp of making it to the big leagues. The pitcher from Biggar, Sask., has been added to the San Diego Padres 40-man roster.
Charlottetown Police and Fire Services are asking residents to avoid areas around Green Street due to a structure fire on Sunday morning.
Despite being born on a Christmas tree farm in Ohio, he wasn't really a fan of the holiday season.
A Hamilton hospital network is taking a closer look at how psychedelics might be useful in medicine.
Most people would prefer to spend the Christmas holiday weekend in warmth and comfort — but a Philadelphia man is going to spend it trudging 120 kilometres in the cold across Windsor-Essex.
Long before the first Calgary Stampede, the city attracted a different kind of cowboy.
After waiting four years to get his son the support the family says he needs to navigate school with learning challenges, a father from London, Ont. is fighting to make equitable healthcare and education a fundamental right.
Waterloo region and Guelph are under two yellow weather alerts warning of freezing rain changing to heavy rainfall Sunday, Environment Canada says.
A survey recently conducted on Prince Edward Island turned up a type of freshwater snail that experts say has never before been identified in the Maritimes.
A downtown Toronto long-term care home is rebuilding with a new design that considers lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, going beyond the province’s standards — but some say those standards are out of date.
It’s another wet and stormy day for much of Newfoundland and Labrador.