More details are emerging about the man suspected of killing two police officers at an Ontario home on Tuesday night.
While Ontario’s police watchdog has not yet identified the shooter, several family friends and an ex-girlfriend who spoke with CTV News Toronto on Wednesday confirmed him to be 23-year-old resident Chris Doncaster.
This is everything we know about him.
WHERE DID HE LIVE?
Doncaster was living with his grandparents at the home near 25th Sideroad and 9th Line, less than one kilometre away from Lake Simcoe, leading up to the Oct. 11 shooting.
The area is described by neighbours as residential, typically quiet, and safe.
TIME IN THE MILITARY
In an email to CTV News, the Canadian Armed Forces confirmed a man named Christopher Joseph Doncaster was a member from May to December in 2020.
A spokesperson for the CAF said he was a Private with no deployment history and did not complete basic training. Images posted on Facebook in November 2020 by Doncaster’s grandmother show him in uniform and a certificate of enlistment is dated May 14, 2020.
WHAT GUN WAS USED IN THE SHOOTING?
According to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), the gun used by Doncaster in the shooting was a SKS semi-automatic rifle.
The rifle itself is legal to buy in Canada and is not included in the federal government’s list of prohibited assault-style firearms.
They are known by collectors as cheap military rifles which were used in the Eastern Bloc in the 1950s and sold in surplus channels in Canada.
A firearms license is required to buy an SKS. A single round fired from the rifle could cause significant injury due to the size of the ammunition
It’s unclear if Doncaster was the legal owner of the firearm or if it was registered.
The same type of gun was also used by 19-year-old Kam McLeod and 18-year-old Bryer Schmegelsky during their three killings in 2019 in northern British Columbia.
ACTIVITY ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Doncaster had recently created an account on Twitch, a popular video game live-streaming service, where he posted videos under the name “1CpMaster1.”
As recently as Oct. 7, Doncaster posted two separate videos where he streamed himself watching a podcast, and playing the popular first-person shooter games Call of Duty: Warzone, Destiny 2, and Overwatch 2.
In a tweet published Oct. 3, Doncaster pitched a Bitcoin giveaway in an effort to boost his online presence.
“If I reach 50k followers I’ll be giving away 10k in bitcoin live on stream more #Giveaway on the way soon,” the tweet read.
His twitter feed also shows an apparent affinity for the city of Toronto and their sports teams.
After the 2018 van attack in North York, Doncaster retweeted a number of posts that expressed their condolences following the attack.
In the summer, he retweeted a post by tech executive Elon Musk that read: “Much harder to make friends than enemies. My skill at the latter is improving.”
Doncaster described himself as an “entrepreneur” on both his Twitter and Instagram platforms.
DID HE HAVE A CRIMINAL HISTORY?
According to court records obtained by The Canadian Press, Doncaster was charged with mischief under $5,000 in October 2018 and two counts of failure to appear in court.
However, all three charges were withdrawn in June of the following year.
WHO CALLED POLICE TO THE HOME?
The SIU said officers were called to the area shortly before 8 p.m. and that family members inside the home made the call to police.
It’s unclear who exactly made the call or what was discussed with the dispatcher.
WHAT HAPPENED, ACCORDING TO THE SIU
Initially, SIU said Const. Devon Northrup, 33, and Const. Morgan Russell, 54, arrived at the home and became involved in an “exchange of gunfire” with a 23-year-old male resident armed with a semi-automatic rifle.
Northrup and Russell were critically injured in the shooting and were rushed to hospitals, but both later died of their injuries.
On Thursday, the SIU stated told CTV News Toronto a third officer was at the house and was the one who exchanged gunfire with the 23-year-old man.
HOW DID DONCASTER DIE?
It is not yet known how Doncaster was killed.
The SIU has said investigators will know more following an autopsy scheduled for Friday.
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With files from Ian Caldwell, Kerrisa Wilson and The Canadian Press
