Chief clarifies details of Saturday’s fatal Hamilton police shooting amid conflicting reports

Hamilton police are speaking out in an unprecedented way following confusion around whether there was an exchange of gunfire between officers and a man who was fatally shot in a west end apartment building Saturday evening.

Ontario’s civilian police watchdog agency, the Special Investigations Unit, invoked its mandate to investigate the incident.

Normally police services do not release any information about an investigation after the SIU invokes its mandate.

However, in a press release Wednesday, Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen offered new details about what happened.

WATCH MORE: 1 man dead, officer hurt after west Hamilton shooting

Bergen said his officers responded to 1964 Main St. West around 5 p.m. because a resident told them there was a man at their door believed to be in possession of a handgun.

The family has since identified the man as 43-year-old Erixon Kabera.

Bergen said Hamilton police did not indicate there was an exchange of gunfire during the incident on the fifth floor of the building, saying the only information they released was in a lone social media post.

They said one officer was transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while Kabera had been taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. He was pronounced dead at 12:47 a.m. Sunday.

Hamilton Police are investigating after an officer was injured after responding to a 911 call, where he was confronted by a male with a firearm.

The officer has been transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An adult male has also been transported to hospital…

— Hamilton Police (@HamiltonPolice) November 9, 2024

“All information issued after this initial post has been released by the SIU as part of their ongoing investigation,” Bergen wrote in the statement.

The SIU initially reported around 10 p.m. Saturday there was an exchange of gunfire.

Nearly 24 hours later, the SIU clarified that Kabera did not discharge a firearm. Rather, they said two Hamilton police officers discharged their firearms and struck Kabera.

The SIU then confirmed to CHCH News on Monday that a replica firearm had been recovered from the scene.

In his statement, Bergen also said that Hamilton police did not identify Kabera.

“I know there are many unanswered questions and I trust the SIU will work to address these in a full, timely, transparent manner,” he said.

In response to the police chief’s statement, a friend of Kabera told CHCH News that the details of the incident need to be more clear.

“We need transparency. We need accountability. We need information,” Josephine Murphy said.

“We demand information and we deserve information so people know the Erixon that we know.”

WATCH MORE: ‘A gentle soul’: family friend speaks out after Hamilton police shooting kills man

The Hamilton Police Association also released a statement Wednesday, denouncing public criticism of the officers involved in the incident.

“We condemn the hateful and ignorant commentary of public officials and others casting judgment upon our officers,” reads the statement shared on X.

“Their statements are entirely devoid of fact. Such commentary is reckless, ill-informed and unnecessarily inflames an already tragic situation.”

pic.twitter.com/v4SK9ilkez

— Hamilton Police Association (@HPAHamilton) November 13, 2024

In the wake of this all, a GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Kabera’s family and a community rally is expected to take place Thursday evening.

According to Murphy, Kabera was a father of three boys and was a “gentle soul.”