INNISFIL, Ont. — Natasha Doncaster’s voice was soft and quiet as she retraced a lifetime of memories of her brother Christopher. With sunglasses on, she clutched her bag in the front seat of her coupe.
“I’m his only voice,” she said.
Natasha, the older sister of the man who shot and killed two police officers and died after exchanging fire with a third officer on Oct. 11 in this small town about 100 kilometres north of Toronto, broke the silence her family kept for the last few days.
“There’s three families that are grieving, not just two,” she said and looked out the window of her car towards the house on Somers Boulevard where the shooting happened.
Constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell responded to a domestic disturbance call at Side Road 25 and Ninth Line area home. They didn’t pull their service pistols from their holsters when they were shot by Christopher, who was armed with an SKS semi-automatic rifle, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) said.
South Simcoe Constable Devon Northrup died in a shootout with a lone gunman inside an Innisfil, Ont., home Oct. 11. Photo credit: South Simcoe Regional Police
The SIU said a third officer at the scene exchanged gunfire with Christopher. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, but the SIU has not released any findings.
The funeral service for the officers will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 20, at the Sadlon Arena, at 555 Bayview Dr. in Barrie.
The crime-scene tape is now stripped away, and bouquets of colourful flowers sit in a white bucket on the front step of the walkway.
Constable Morgan Russell died during a shootout with a lone gunman Oct. 11 in Innisfil, Ont. Photo credit: South Simcoe Regional Police
Natasha, 24, looked at the house where her 22-year-old brother lived, saying she wished she could have travelled from Toronto more often to be with him. If she was there more often, she thought she could have helped him a bit more or at least been there for him.
She said Christopher did not have any alcohol or drug problems. He never revealed that he was struggling with anything. She thinks he was good at hiding his depression and his reaction was a result of “being scared.”
The Doncasters lived in the white-brick bungalow for 25 years and knew many in the community. She said they have received nothing but love and support from those who have known Christopher, Natasha and the family.
But that’s changed. Natasha said the family is trying to deal with the onslaught of negative comments and death threats they are receiving every day.
She said she is planning to post a video on social media about her brother. She wants to explain that the family knows his actions were wrong and they are not sure if it was due to depression or mental illness, but that they are grieving a loss, too.
“I’m definitely not condoning what he did,” she said. “What he did was super wrong.”
The family is planning a memorial in memory of Christopher and the officers, but the family does not feel comfortable disclosing where it will be because of the amount of hate mail they are receiving.
Natasha wished this never happened – that nobody would lose their lives that night because of the devastating mark it left on her family, the officers’ families and the community.
“I really just want to make it clear that my family and I send our deepest condolences to the (officers’) families that were involved,” she said.
“He was a good person that just made a mistake,” she said.
Natasha said her brother was loved by his family and friends. She said he always took care of everyone around him and spoke highly of them.