Friday, March 19, 2004

FATAL SHOOTING IN DESBARATS
(Desbarats, Ont.)

An unidentified 34-year-old man was shot and killed in Desbarats yesterday as police were attempting to take him into custody for a robbery on St. Joseph Island.

Yesterday, at approximately 11:30 a.m., officers from the East Algoma Ontario Provincial Police were dispatched to an armed robbery that occurred at the Northern Credit Union in Richard’s Landing, St Joseph’s Island. A male brandishing a firearm robbed the Credit Union and fled the scene on a motorized snow vehicle.

As a result of this investigation, at approximately 6:30 p.m. yesterday, OPP officers from East Algoma detachment and the OPP North East Region Emergency Response Team, assisted by the Sault Ste Marie Police Service, Emergency Services Unit, set up a containment area around a residence in the Town of Desbarats (east of Sault Ste Marie) in an attempt to arrest an armed suspect believed to be in the house.

At approximately 10:00 p.m., a man carrying a duffle bag approached OPP officers assisting in maintaining security at a checkpoint in the area of the house. When the individual was asked to identify himself by the officers, a shot was fired.

An ambulance, which was on standby at the scene, was summoned and immediately transported the 34-year-old male to Matthews Memorial Hospital in Richard’s Landing where he was pronounced deceased upon arrival.

The Province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has been notified and will be investigating.