OPP, provincial watchdog probe deaths of 3 people in Huntsville

Ontario’s police watchdog and provincial police have both launched investigations following the deaths of two women and one man in Huntsville, Ont. 

Both the Ontario Provincial Police and the Special Investigations Unit say officers were called to a local home at 9 p.m. on Friday after a 52-year-old man barricaded himself inside. 

The SIU says the man told police he had harmed two family members and had unspecified weapons on hand. 

The SIU says the OPP deployed crisis negotiators to the home and made contact with the man by phone but when communication stopped, they sent a drone into the residence and found the three bodies inside. 

The OPP offered few details of its ongoing investigation, citing the active SIU probe, but says there is no current threat to public safety and residents in the area should expect to see a large police presence throughout the weekend. 

The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.