3 killed after rental dispute between landlord and tenants

This was a tragic weekend of gunfire in Stoney Creek. Police say 2 people were shot and killed last night in a dispute with their landlord in the house where they lived just off Barton Street.

That was followed by an armed standoff between police and the murder suspect until the police shot and killed the man. With 3 people dead, neighbours say they can’t remember anything like this ever happening in their area.

Late into the night, as the standoff went on, Hamilton police called for the homeowner named Terry to put down his guns and come out. But it didn’t end peacefully.

The trouble started earlier in the evening, just before 6 p.m., when 2 people who lived in the house were killed, shot as they were running away from the man with the gun.

Police say the 2 victims were a 27-year-old woman from Hamilton who worked as an educational assistant for the Brant Catholic School Board and a 28-year-old Hamilton man who was an electrician.

They say the dispute with the landlord was over the state of the home.

After the 2 murders, a man barricaded himself inside the house as night fell.

Police tried to negotiate. But later, gunfire broke out.

The Special Investigations Unit, called into situations like this, says he was eventually shot and killed by police.

Police say the 57-year-old owner of the home, who neighbours say was named Terry, had no record of being in trouble with the police, but he was the owner of several registered guns.

Neighbours were told to shelter in their basements until the police gave the all-clear after midnight.

Police say the initial dispute involved the tenants going to the landlord about a health problem.

Police say none of these people have ever been in any trouble with the police. They say the 2 murder victims were completely innocent.