The province’s police watchdog confirms a gun was recovered from inside a pickup truck where a toddler was found shot to death Thursday after OPP officers responded to a suspected child abduction and opened fire on the boy’s father near Lindsay.
But Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which probes any serious injury or death involving cops, has yet to determine whether the fatal shot was fired by the gun in the truck or one of the firearms discharged by three OPP officers during the police-involved shooting.
“SIU investigators remain in the City of Kawartha Lakes to investigate the circumstances surrounding an interaction (Thursday) that resulted in the death of a one-year-old child and serious injuries to a 33-year-old man,” SIU spokesperson Monica Hudon said in a statement released Friday, explaining an officer was also “seriously injured” in the confrontation.
“The SIU appreciates the public interest in this tragic case and is doing what it can to get answers to the public as quickly as possible while ensuring that the integrity of the investigation is not compromised,” she said. “We ask for the public’s continued patience.”
Hudon said a post-mortem examination was expected to be conducted Saturday in Toronto on the boy, who was in the backseat at the time of the shooting.
“From the scene, investigators have collected three police-issued firearms, which will be sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences for analysis,” she said. “A fourth firearm — a handgun — was located in the pickup truck.”
“Investigators are in the process of taking possession of the handgun,” Hudon added.
The child’s father, who was suffered gunshot wounds and was airlifted from the scene on Pigeon Lake Rd. to a Toronto hospital in grave condition, remains in hospital, she said.
Hudon said an OPP officer, who suffered “serious injuries” when the pickup collided with his cruiser while he was outside of his police vehicle, remains in hospital in stable condition.
“Three subject officers and 13 witness officers have been designated,” she said. “Two civilian witnesses have been interviewed.
On Thursday, Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique took to Twitter and also urged people to allow investigators to do their job and not rush to conclusions.
“I ask that @SIUOntario and @YRP be given time to investigate, without speculation on the events as they unfolded,” Carrique said. “Our thoughts & prayers are with those that are suffering today.”
