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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.