‘Truly innocent victims’: Hamilton police point to ‘landlord-tenant dispute’ as motive for double homicide

Hamilton police say two people were shot and killed in Stoney Creek Saturday night in what investigators are describing as a landlord-tenant dispute."

Speaking to reporters Sunday morning, Det. Sgt. Steve Bereziuk said at around 5:40 p.m. Saturday night, officers responded to reports of a shooting at 322 Jones Rd., just north of Barton Street.

Bereziuk said officers arriving at the scene found two people fatally shot outside of the two-and-a-half storey residence, nestled between Barton and Cornell Avenue.

Witnesses told police that the victims were seen fleeing the house" before they were killed outside of the residence, said Bereziuk. First responders were able to check on the victims, who were pronounced dead immediately, he noted.

Bereziuk said the two victims in the shooting, a 27-year-old woman and a 28-year-old man, were tenants of a basement apartment in the home. The suspect in the homicide, a 57-year-old man, was their landlord and lived upstairs.

Officers then learned that the suspect had barricaded himself inside the home. Bereziuk said the man had several firearms in the home, all registered to him at that address.

Those weapons included handguns as well as long guns, such as rifles, said Bereziuk, who would not comment on the amount of ammunition found in the home.

At that time, the Emergency Response Unit was deployed to the scene, a large area surrounding the residence was cordoned off and negotiations with the man began.

Bereziuk said a large area was taped off around the property as the home, located on a corner lot, offered a large line of sight."

Officers had to be very careful with where it was that they were going to stand," he added.

Earlier in the day, officers could be seen crouching behind vehicles, firearms drawn at the large scene spanning Jones Road in the east and Kenmore Avenue in the west between Barton Street and Arvin Avenue late Saturday afternoon.

Bereziuk said police spent considerable time" on the phone with the man in attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution." However, in a media release, police said the man shot at police from the home.

At the scene, the window of a black SUV and an adjacent business were both shot out. Police could not comment on how many shots were fired by the suspect.

Later on, Bereziuk said, there was an interaction" between officers and the suspect, identified as a 57-year-old man; he was pronounced dead. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) later confirmed he was killed by police gunfire. No further details have been released on the suspect.

Our negotiators did the best they could to negotiate a peaceful resolution here," he added, noting that the suspect was not known to police.

The SIU invoked their mandate in the investigation.

In a statement Sunday, the SIU said that around 10 p.m. Saturday, there was an exchange of gunfire between the man and a police officer. The man was struck and died at the scene, according to the police watchdog.

The SIU investigates incidents involving police in Ontario where someone dies, is seriously hurt or there is an allegation of sexual assault.

While Bereziuk could not speak to the interaction with police, he offered more details into the double-homicide, which police are describing as a landlord-tenant dispute."

The early indication on that is that it sounds like there was some type of dispute regarding the state of the home," said Bereziuk. It wasn't over a missed rental payment."

Investigators will not be releasing the names of the victims at this time, added Bereziuk.

We've notified the families and we've been in contact with them," he said. They are extremely upset as you can well imagine. These are not people that this should happen to."

Just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday night, a man in a black pickup truck sped toward the scene, stopping just before the police tape. He ran toward the police tape, visibly emotional, alleging a man had shot his family members.

Officers held the man back; he left in his truck not long afterwards.

Bereziuk said the woman was an educational assistant for a Catholic school board in Brant County and the man was an electrician in Hamilton. The couple were engaged to be married and both were from Hamilton.

They're truly innocent victims, hardworking people," he said, noting that neither of the victims were known to police. This is a very tragic incident."

Bereziuk said the investigation will be largely forensic and that no other suspects are being sought in connection to the homicides.

Police are still on scene, with Jones Road closed between Arvin Avenue and Barton Street.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Robert Di Ianni at 905-546-3836. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit tips online to crimestoppershamilton.com.

Fallon Hewitt is a reporter at The Spectator. fhewitt@thespec.com