The two police officers and the 23-year-old man who were killed in a shooting inside an Innisfil home Tuesday evening have been identified.
The incident occurred at a residence near 25th Side Road and 9th Line shortly before 8 p.m. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which is looking into the circumstances surrounding the shooting, said South Simcoe police officers were dispatched to the address for a disturbance call.
The SIU said family members inside the home made the call.
Two officers, who were identified on Wednesday as Const. Devon Northrup, 33, and Const. Morgan Russell, 54, first arrived and subsequently became involved in an exchange of gunfire with a 23-year-old male resident armed with a semi-automatic rifle, the SIU said.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Family friends and an ex-girlfriend who spoke to CTV News identified the 23-year-old as Chris Doncaster.
Meanwhile, Northrup and Russell were critically injured in the incident and were rushed to hospitals, but both later died of their injuries.
South Simcoe Acting Police Chief John Van Dyke remembered the two constables at a news conference on Wednesday. Northrup had six years of service with South Simcoe Police, while Russell was a 33-year veteran of the service.
“This is a heartbreaking time for our police service, the families impacted, our emergency services personnel and our communities. Our immediate focus is to support our members and their grieving families,” Van Dyke said.
Northrup was assigned to the Community Mobilization and Engagement Unit, and was a member of the service’s Mental Health Crisis Outreach and Support Team and the Emergency Response Unit.
He is survived by his partner, parents and many close friends, Van Dyke said.
Russell was assigned to uniform patrol and was a trained crisis negotiator. He is survived by his wife and two teenage children.
“This is personal for me. I went to police college with Morgan 33 years ago,” Van Dyke added.
Van Dyke said the service had requested York Regional Police to conduct an investigation into the circumstances of the incident.
“We must acknowledge that the Ontario Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has invoked its mandate. I am, therefore, very limited in what information we can share,” he said.
“We ask for your patience and privacy as we attempt to come to terms with the loss of these two beloved members of our family,” he added.
It is unclear what led to gunshots being fired between the officers and the man. The SIU has assigned six investigators and three forensic investigators to the case.
The province’s police watchdog investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.
“The man’s autopsy is scheduled for Friday. Till that time, the investigation is ongoing,” SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette said.
Denette added that the man’s firearm was collected at the scene. She also told reporters the SIU has not designated any officers as subject officers at this point.
A vigil was held Wednesday evening at Innisfil Community Church, where hundreds gathered to show support and pay tribute to the slain officers.
Meanwhile, back at the scene, neighbours told CTV News Toronto the 23-year-old Doncaster was the grandson of an elderly couple who resided in the home.
“He was definitely a troubled kid. That is all I would feel comfortable saying,” one neighbour said.
“You don’t know the details of what goes not behind closed doors, but it is very upsetting. I am upset to think about how those grandparents are now feeling about their grandson and everything that transpired in that house.”
Another neighbour, John Ridge, has lived on the street where the shooting occurred for the past 26 years. He said it’s a quiet neighbourhood and was shocked to hear about the fatal shooting.
“It’s unsettling and disheartening to have a cop shot right on your street, but that’s what this world has come to,” Ridge said.
Early Wednesday morning, numerous police cruisers participated in a procession for the first fallen officer to the coroner’s office, near Highway 401 and Keele Street, in Toronto.
At around 8:30 a.m., police participated in another procession for the second fallen officer. They drove from Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital along the Don Valley Parkway and Highway 401 to the coroner’s office.
Premier Doug Ford said Wednesday he was “heartbroken” to learn about the death of the two officers.
“I want to send our condolences and our prayers and thoughts out to the family and friends and to all the police officers out there, such a close-knit community,” he told CTV News Toronto.
“You just don’t see this up in Simcoe, very seldom you ever see something like this, but it just goes to show you that it can happen anywhere here in the province or in the country but I know further details will come out once the investigation finishes there,” he added.
Ford later visited the police detachment in Innisfil to show his support to the officers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted his condolences to South Simcoe Police and the fallen officers’ loved ones.
The shooting comes a month after Toronto Police Const. Andrew Hong and two others were fatally shot by a gunman who went on a shooting spree in the GTA on Sept. 12.
