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Man wielding knife killed by OPP in Kirkland Lake

Special Investigations Unit says police encountered 66-year-old in school parking lot in Kirkland Lake; 'The man refused to drop the weapon, and an interaction ensued'
2021-05-20-opp-cruiser

​The province’s Special Investigations Unit is probing the death of a 66-year-old man in Kirkland Lake who was shot and killed by OPP officers during a confrontation Tuesday morning.

In a Twitter post yesterday, the Ontario Provincial Police’s North East region reported that officers responded just before 7:30 a.m. to a report of an armed person on Duncan Avenue South.

“During an altercation with officers an individual was shot and later died in hospital,” the post said.

In a follow-up tweet, the OPP said the matter is now in the hands of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which probes all cases of death or serious injury involving police.

In a statement released later in the day, the SIU said police encountered a man carrying an "edged weapon" in the parking lot of École secondaire catholique l’Envolée du Nord.

"The man refused to drop the weapon, and an interaction ensued," the statement said. "At least one officer deployed their conducted energy weapon at the man, and another officer discharged his firearm at the man. The man was struck."

Four investigators and three forensic investigators have been assigned to the case. The post-mortem is scheduled for Wednesday in Sudbury.

The SIU is urging anyone who may have information about this investigation, including video or photos, to contact the lead investigator at 1-800-787-8529 or online at: https://siu.on.ca/en/appeals.php