Man shot by police identified
Nov 30, 2008 - 12:45 PM
By Jillian Follert
OSHAWA -- Residents of a south Oshawa townhouse complex were sombre Sunday morning, still trying to process the tragedy that unfolded in their own backyard the night before.
“You can’t believe something like this could happen a few feet away from you,” said neighbour Mike, who declined to give his last name. “The fact that kids were involved just makes me sick to my stomach. How could someone stab a little kid?”
Durham police were called to the complex at 1010 Glen St. at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday by a woman who said she had been stabbed.
Neighbours say a man named Gino crashed a small party being hosted by Rick and Leslie Kelly to celebrate their son Brandon’s birthday.
According to police reports, a man, woman and two children aged three and seven suffered stab wounds and were rushed to hospital. The knife-wielding man was later shot and killed by police after a confrontation.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was called in to investigate and has since identified the man killed by police as 47-year-old Gino Petralia, an Oshawa resident.
SIU spokesman John Yoannou said seven police officers have been designated in the investigation -- one subject officer and six witnesses.
An autopsy on Mr. Petralia is expected to take place in Toronto on Tuesday.
Durham Regional Police have yet to confirm any other deaths or provide details about the victims, pending notification of next of kin. However, neighbours say both Leslie and Rick Kelly were viciously stabbed, and that Leslie succumbed to her injuries, while Rick remains in critical condition in hospital.
A Facebook group called “Rest in Peace Leslie Kelly” indicates the couple’s two other sons, Nathan and Riley, were also attacked, and that Nathan remains in critical condition.
Neighbours said the attack was sparked by a child custody dispute -- that Mr. Petralia's 13-year-old son had been cared for by the Kellys since the boy's mother died of cancer in August, and that Mr. Petralia was upset by a custody arrangement that limited his access to the child.
“(Gino) had some mental problems and some drug problems, so his son was taken away,” said neighbour Amanda. “He wanted him back and he must have just snapped.”
Neighbours provided conflicting reports of Mr. Petralia’s son’s relationship with the Kelly family.
“My heart just goes out to all of them," said Wanda Bussey, who lives in the apartment building across the street from the townhouse complex. "Such a sad thing to happen right before Christmas. Those poor children now without a mother and that poor man now without his wife.”
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