Neighbours of the man who died after being shot during a confrontation with Ontario Provincial Police officers Wednesday morning said he suffered from mental illness.
The man, identified by neighbours as 33-year-old Matthew Roke, was killed hours after police were first called to the home he shared with his parents on Concession Road 2 in Augusta Township, located about an hour away from Ottawa near Highway 401, at 12:45 a.m.
By the time police arrived, Roke had already fled the home. Officers from the Emergency Response Team and the Canine Unit combed the area but didn't find him during their initial search.
Police returned to the home around 6:45 a.m. after reports Roke had returned.
Officers from the Grenville detachment of the OPP found him standing on the side of the road wielding a knife. Roke was shot during the course of the confrontation which was witnessed by a school bus driver and a high school student along with a truck driver.
"It looked like a dog or a deer they were pointing their guns at," said truck driver Roger Burcume. "Turns out it was a person they had just shot."
"I felt sick to my stomach for awhile."
Residents in the area were shocked by the confrontation.
"It's a crying shame it had to come to end that way and unfortunately he's lying under a tarp," said Mary Jane Somerville who knows the Roke family. "He's a brother, son, nephew, he's people's friends.
The Special Investigations Unit has been called in to investigate the shooting. 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.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Joanne Schnurr
