Two officers, suspect identified in fatal shooting at Innisfil, Ont. home
Two police officers are dead after a shooting at a home in Innisfil, Ont., south of Barrie.
In a statement released early Wednesday morning, South Simcoe police reported the two officers had responded to a disturbance call at a home on Somers Boulevard, near the 25th Sideroad at approximately 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities said both officers were shot inside the home.
"It is with profound sadness that I announce the death of Const. Devon Northrup and Const. Morgan Russell," South Simcoe Police Acting Chief John Van Dyke said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon.
"Words cannot describe our grief," Van Dyke said. "This is personal for me. I went to police college with Morgan 33 years ago."
Const. Devon Northrup, left, and Const. Morgan Russell, right, were fatally shot during an incident on Oct. 11 in Innisfil, Ont. (Supplied)
Authorities said one officer was rushed to the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre in Barrie and died of his injuries.
The second officer was airlifted to a Toronto trauma centre in critical condition. Police confirmed he died early Wednesday morning.
Van Dyke said Const. Russell was a 33-year veteran of the service. The 54-year-old leaves behind a wife and two teenage children.
He said 33-year-old Const. Northrup had been with South Simcoe Police for six years and was a member of the Crisis Outreach and Support Team.
Police from across Ontario gathering for a procession to drive their fallen fellow officer to the coroner's office. Wed., Oct. 12, 2022 (South Simcoe Police/Twitter)
"It's difficult to find words to be able to bring hope in something that was so senseless," said Innisfil Community Church pastor Steve Bradley.
"We recognize the community has questions, as do we," Van Dyke added.
He noted the province's Special Investigations Unit (SIU) had invoked its mandate. "I am, therefore, very limited in what information we can share," Van Dyke said.
The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates incidents involving police officers that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault, and the discharge of a firearm.
Investigators said the 23-year-old male suspect involved in the case was pronounced dead following an interaction with the police.
While the SIU has yet to identify the deceased suspect, CTV News has learned from neighbours that the man's name is Chris Doncaster. According to those in the area, Doncaster lived with his grandparents, both in their 80s.
Neighbours identify Chris Doncaster, 23, of Innisfil, Ont., as the suspect in a shooting that left two police officers dead on Tues., Oct. 11, 2022 (Source: Instagram)
"We ask for your patience and privacy as we attempt to come to terms with the loss of two beloved members of our family," Van Dyke concluded.
Following the news of the officer's deaths, condolences started pouring in on social media.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Minister Caroline Mulroney visit South Simcoe Police North Division in Innisfil, Ont. on Wed., Oct. 12, 2022, to offer their condolences after two police officers are killed in the line of duty. (South Simcoe Police/Twitter)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.