The Somers Boulevard neighbourhood in Innisfil is in shock after two South Simcoe Police officers were killed in the line of duty Tuesday night, as well as a 23-year-old Innisfil resident.
None of the residents who live on the quiet street said they ever imagined something like this happening.
"We've lived here for years and you never expect something like this in a place like Innisfil," said one couple who asked to remain anonymous. "It’s such a waste of life. I can’t imagine being a family dealing with this."
Many of the neighbours in the area didn't hear anything except the sirens of first responders, which created a whirlwind of confusion about what could be going on down the normally quiet street.
"I was in the basement and I saw all the cop cars flying by, one after the other, and we came out and talked to the other neighbours," said Mike Gerrard, a Somers Boulevard resident. "Then we looked on Facebook and saw it was two police officers. This is an area where everybody gets along, we don't even lock our cars."
Another resident said he couldn't believe what happened.
"I saw the two cop cars go by and I figured every once in a while cops end up on our street," said John Ridge, who lives several doors down from where the shooting took place. "I went back to sleep and woke up this morning and couldn't believe what happened. This is the world we live in, violence begets violence."
Louise Clearwater had been walking her dog just minutes before it took place.
"I was already past the area just before it happened," she said. "I checked on Facebook and I contacted my friend who lives on the street to see if she was OK and she told me what she knew. But we have so many fireworks here it's hard to tell what's what and you'd never imagine it's gunshots in this area. This isn't the United States, this isn't Texas."
South Simcoe Police are holding a news conference about the shootings at 1 p.m.
