Engaged couple shot dead days before moving out of house near Hamilton

An engaged couple was shot dead while fleeing their landlord near Hamilton just days before they were scheduled to move out of their apartment.

Hamilton police told CTV News Toronto 27-year-old Carissa MacDonald and 28-year-old Aaron Stone were set to move out of their basement apartment on June 1.

Just days earlier, on Saturday, they were shot outside of their home at 322 Jones Rd., near Barton Street, in Stoney Creek.

The landlord-tenant dispute that sparked the fatal escalation was over a mold issue in the tenants’ unit, according to Hamilton police.

Police confirmed the tenants raised health concerns about the mold to their landlord, who lived on the upper floors of the house.

The owner of the house, a 57-year-old named Terry Brekka, according to property records, had barricaded himself in the residence with multiple guns registered in his name. Hours later, he was shot and killed by a police officer, now the subject of a police watchdog investigation.

27-year-old Carissa MacDonald (left) and 28-year-old Aaron Stone of Hamilton have been identified as the victims of a deadly shooting in Stoney Creek, Ont. (Hamilton Police Service)Police identified the engaged couple – who they have called “truly innocent” – on Tuesday.

Stone was a “highly regarded” electrician in Hamilton with “immense potential for a promising career,” business manager Steve Fox told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday.

“The void left by his absence will be profoundly felt throughout our industry, particularly among his fellow Brothers and Sisters here at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, where he was universally liked and respected,” Fox said.

MacDonald was an educational assistant for the Catholic school board in Brant County. “Our prayers are with her family and with all individuals impacted by this tragic situation,” Tracey Austin, the board’s manager of communications, said in a statement on Monday.

Hamilton police said the families of both victims are requesting privacy at this time.