David LeClair's family says he was unarmed and blinded by pepper spray when he was shot three times by a Gatineau police officer Saturday morning outside his home.

"He shot my son and left him dying on the road there, never even calling for an ambulance," said the mother of the victim, Dorothy LeClair, as she stood with her granddaughter Brittany, who just lost her father.

"I think she doesn't believe it. She probably thinks he's on a trip or something," said Robert Ponbert, David's brother-in-law.

Unarmed and blinded by pepper spray

Police are releasing few details, but family members are giving their side of the story.

Saturday morning around 11:30 a.m., an officer was called to the LeClair home at 16 Conroy Road in Aylmer.

Family say it was over a complaint by David's ex-girlfriend.

It's alleged the officer followed David into the house and used pepper spray on him.

Family who witnessed the altercation say LeClair was not being aggressive.

LeClair then walked back into the front yard. Family say that is when their unarmed brother was shot three times in the torso at close range.

"David came out because he was (pepper) sprayed and he couldn't breathe. So he was hanging on to the truck and the cop kept yelling, 'Get on the ground, get on the ground.' My brother kept brushing his eyes, and the next thing you know we hear 'pow, pow, pow,'" said Carol LeClair, David's sister.

Police release few details

The S�ret� du Qu�bec has been called in to investigate. The provincial police force is typically called to investigate when municipal police are involved in an intervention that has caused injury or death.

Gatineau police confirmed a man was shot, but wouldn't confirm much else.

"What we know right now, we know that shots were fired in front of 16 Conroy Road," said Const. Isabelle Poirier, spokesperson for the Gatineau Police.

The victim's brother, Robert LeClair, says he has already called his lawyer.

Through the weekend, detectives interviewed witnesses, some of them family members struggling to deal with the death.

The family says nine-year-old Brittany will now be raised by her grandmother.

"My son was murdered yesterday cold blooded. There is no excuse for that," said Dorothy LeClair.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's Kate Eggins