KAWARTHA LAKES-A 73 year old man is dead after an altercation at a Minden area business escalated and police were called.
Members of the Haliburton Highlands Detachment of the OPP were called to investigate an altercation that occurred at the Valu-Mart grocery store on Highway 35 this morning. Witnesses say the altercation began in response to the mandatory mask policy.
Follow up investigation led police to an address on Indian Point Road in the Eagle Lake area. Police say during the investigation, shots were fired which caused the responding police to request additional officers.
The confrontation between the police and this same male resulted in him being injured. The male was transported to hospital, and later succumbed to his injury.
The OPP has notified the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and they have invoked their mandate.
The SIU says after the altercation at the Valu-Mart, an officer observed the suspect vehicle and commenced following it for a short period of time. Based on a query of the vehicle’s licence plate, officers made their way to a residence on Indian Point Road near Eage Lake. Outside the residence, there was an interaction with the man and two officers discharged their firearms according to the SIU. The man was struck. He was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased at 11:47 a.m.
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
