SIU mum on gun details in killings

Five firearms in house where couple died

Weapons recovered from the Hamilton home where a young couple were shot dead following a dispute with their landlord has raised questions about the types and quantity he owned.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said Tuesday investigators recovered five firearms from 322 Jones Rd. in Stoney Creek, where engaged couple Carissa MacDonald, 27, and Aaron Stone, 28, were killed on Saturday.

Their landlord, the suspect in the May 27 slayings, was killed in a standoff with police.

Neither police nor the provincial police watchdog, which probes incidents involving police in Ontario where someone dies or is seriously hurt, have identified the suspect, but property records obtained by The Spectator show the residence was purchased by Terry Brekka in March 2003.

One police-issued gun was also recovered from the Jones Road residence, and all are being examined, according to the SIU.

Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said a “heated argument” about mould in the basement apartment was the catalyst. But it’s unclear what caused it to escalate, resulting in three dead.

“It’s an extremely rare event,” said gun violence expert Dr. Caillin Langmann, adding that it’s a “tragic situation.”

Gun ownership in Canada, a country of nearly 40 million people, is “fairly common,” he said, with about two million legally owned firearms. But getting one isn’t easy.

Applicants — who often apply to own a gun for sports like hunting and target shooting — must undergo a “fairly extensive” screening process, including a background check, references, safety course and psychological assessment that looks at factors like violence, capacity and depression, said Langmann, a McMaster University medical professor.

“They have to have no history of violence,” he said, adding that owners have to reapply every five years.

Police said Tuesday both handguns and long guns were found on the property, but it’s unclear how many of each. Bereziuk said to the best of his knowledge the weapons were “appropriately stored” in a gun safe on the property, and at least some of them were registered.

Police spokesperson Jackie Penman said in an email the scene was released late Wednesday morning. In the early afternoon, workers could be seen boarding up the open garage door with plywood.

In an email Monday evening, the SIU declined to comment further on the firearms found, “to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation.”

In Canada, restricted handguns can no longer be legally purchased. However, they can be possessed for sport, as part of a collection and, in “limited circumstances,” for “use in connection with one’s lawful profession or occupation, or to protect life,” according to the RCMP.

The type of gun used in a violent act is “insignificant,” since any can injure or kill, Langmann said.

In Canada, there’s no restriction on the number of guns a person can own, he said, and quantity has “no relevance in terms of someone’s propensity to violence.”

“It just takes one firearm,” he said.