Ontario’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate a police-involved shooting at a gas station in Burlington that left a man dead and two officers wounded.
Halton Regional Police said the incident, which happened at the Esso at Appleby Line and Harvester Road on Saturday morning, involved two officers who were taken to hospital for treatment of serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Special Investigations Unit spokesperson Monica Hudon said OPP were attempting to locate a 32-year-old man who had been involved in a motor vehicle collision early this morning.
At about 5:30 a.m., police received a report from someone about a suspicious man in the bathroom of the Esso gas station at Appleby and Harvester.
Hudon said officers from both OPP and Halton Regional Police arrived on the scene; when the man exited the bathroom, he exchanged gunfire with police officers inside the gas station.
The man was shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being revealed until next-of-kin have been notified. The body was removed from the scene around 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
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Meanwhile, first responders across the province took to Twitter to express their concern for the officers who took gunfire including Barry Hughes, president of the Halton Regional Police Association.
“Two officers sustained non-life-threatening injuries and are currently being treated at hospital,” his tweet read.
“Our thoughts are with our members, their families and colleagues.”
Halton Region Police Chief Steve Tanner tweeted about the bravery of first responders.
“Today and every day we should all be thankful for our brave first responders,” he tweeted.
The SIU continues to investigate and asked any witnesses with information to contact them.