Carissa MacDonald and Aaron Stone (Hamilton Police Service)
A young Canadian couple who were engaged were reportedly shot and killed on the lawn of their residence by their 57-year-old landlord following an argument over mold in the home, authorities say. The owner was killed later that day following a shootout with police responding to the scene.
According to a pair of Hamilton Police Department press releases, the owner – whose name was withheld by investigators at the request of his family – is charged with killing Carissa MacDonald and Aaron Stone outside their residence in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
At approximately 5:40 p.m., HPS officers responded to an emergency call at a home in the 300 block of Jones Road in Stony Creek. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders say they found MacDonald, 27, and Stone, 28, already dead outside the house and noted that the two deceased were tenants of the residence.
Police say the landlord then “barricaded” himself inside the home with several firearms legally registered to him. The Hamilton Police Emergency Response Unit responded to the address to contain the scene while negotiators engaged with the 57-year-old in a bid to resolve the standoff peacefully, the report says. communicated.
While negotiations were still ongoing, the owner allegedly fired and hit an armored vehicle, police said.
Several hours after the clash began, the suspect allegedly fired several additional rounds at responding officers, resulting in “an interaction with police,” the statement said. Officers exchanged gunfire with the owner who was fatally injured in the shooting.
HPS officers during the hours-long standoff with the alleged murder (CBC News screenshot)
Following the deadly exchange with the alleged killer, the Ontario Special Investigations Unit was contacted and responded to the address. The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency that conducts criminal investigations of police-civilian interactions that involve allegations of sexual assault or result in death or serious injury.
In a news release, the SIU said the shootout between police and the owner took place around 10 p.m. that evening, resulting in the suspect being struck at least once. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The agency said six investigators and four forensic investigators have been assigned to the case along with seven official witnesses.
SIU investigators further said a total of five firearms were inside the owner’s residence. These weapons, along with the firearm issued by the police and used to kill the suspect, were recovered and forwarded to the Center of Forensic Sciences for analysis.
In an interview with CP24 Toronto, Det. Steve Bereziuk reportedly said the couple were fleeing the residence when they were shot and called the victims “truly innocent”.
“As you can well imagine, these are not people this should happen to,” he reportedly said. “They are not involved in any level of crime or lifestyle that could lead to an incident like this.”
The agency urged anyone with additional information or video footage of the incident to contact the SIU at 1-800-787-8529 or online at: https://siu.on.ca /en/appeals.php.
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