Engaged couple killed in dispute with landlord, Hamilton police say

A neighbourhood in Stoney Creek is "shocked" after "horrifying" events over the weekend that took the lives of a couple in their 20s who police say were renters in an east Hamil‐ ton home.

Police say a 27-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man were shot and killed by their landlord after a dispute Saturday. When police arrived around 6 p.m., the man had barricaded himself in the home, resulting in a standoff with police that lasted several hours.

The man was killed in "an exchange of gunfire" with a police officer, according to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU).

Police said the couple — an educational assistant and an electrician who were en‐ gaged — had been shot as they were "fleeing the resi‐ dence."

"They are truly innocent victims... this is a very tragic incident," Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk told reporters Sun‐ day morning.

Ward 10 councillor Jeff Beattie called the scene "pret‐ ty horrifying."

"This is a really quiet part of town, not a lot happens here and for three lives to be tragically lost, it's unbeliev‐ able," he told CBC News Sun‐ day afternoon.

Suspect barricaded him‐ self inside home

Police said they were called to the residence at 322 Jones Rd., north of Bar‐ ton Street in Stoney Creek, af‐ ter reports of a shooting. They learned a 57-year-old man they say was the land‐ lord had barricaded himself inside the house with several firearms registered to him.

"We spent considerable time last night on the phone in attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the male suspect," Bereziuk said.

The SIU said around 10 p.m., there was "an exchange of gunfire between the man and a police officer" and "the man was struck and pro‐ nounced deceased."

It said a team of 10 investi‐ gators have been assigned to the case and could be seen on site Sunday.

The SIU investigates the conduct of police officers when they shoot at someone, as well as incidents involving police that result in death or serious injury.

Police said families of both victims have been notified but that the victims's names would not be released at this time.

Dispute over 'state of the home'

The families "are extremely upset. As you can well imag‐ ine, these are not people that this should happen to. They're not involved in any level of criminality or lifestyle that may lead to an incident like this," Bereziuk said.

He said police continue to investigate what happened exactly before the shooting.

"The early indication on that is it sounds like there was some type of dispute regard‐ ing the state of the home. The specifics I don't think I'll get into at this point in time." Po‐ lice said it did not involve "a missed rental payment."

Sandra Chaisson, a neigh‐ bour who lives two houses down from where the shoot‐ ings took place, told CBC Hamilton the whole experi‐ ence was "really scary."

She said she had just fin‐ ished dinner Saturday when she "heard the first sirens." Chaisson said she saw ambu‐ lances, police cars and offi‐ cers arrive with guns and dogs.

"Then two tactical units came ... and got their [equip‐ ment on]. That was pretty startling to see," she said.

Chaisson said police then asked neighbours to stay in‐ side the house and away from the windows. "Around 10 or 11 [p.m.] we heard gunshots. That was very scary," said Chaisson. She said around five minutes later, police called her and her husband, telling them to go down to their basement. They later called again at around 12:40 a.m. to tell them they could come up.

"It was a scary night," she said. "When I did finally go to bed, I couldn't sleep."

Chaisson said she's been living in the neighbourhood for almost her whole life and nothing like this has ever hap‐ pened. She said the landlord of the home in question was "a very quiet man" and ap‐ peared to also live at the home with his girlfriend.

"I'm shocked by what hap‐ pened," she said.

'This hits home': coun‐ cillor

Beattie, the local council‐ lor, said he first heard of the events from community members sending him news articles.

"This hits home. It makes a big impact," he said, adding that he knows people in the neighbourhood.

Beattie shared his condo‐ lences with the families of the victims and thanked police for their efforts.

He added he could not share any further details about what happened be‐ cause of the SIU investigation, but would support the com‐ munity.

"I'm gonna take some time just to knock on a few doors and check in with local resi‐ dents," he said.

"We're a close-knit com‐ munity. We look out for each other ... This is what we do as a community. We come to‐ gether, we support each oth‐ er and we'll get through this."