Police descended on a Heidelberg neighbourhood Tuesday evening, but were just setting up when a 64-year-old man took his own life without incident.
Neighbours on Meadowview Court, a small residential street with homes that back onto a large forested area, are still asking questions about what exactly happened, while three investigators and two forensic investigators are probing the circumstances surrounding the death of David Rung.
At approximately 5 p.m. Oct. 13, Waterloo Regional Police officers responded to a call regarding a potential suicide at a residence. Rung’s wife made the call to police after returning home and finding her husband in a state that suggested he was suicidal. Shortly thereafter, heavily-armed members of the Emergency Response Unit descended on the neighbourhood: a record check on the man determined that he did have weapons in the house.
Rung’s wife was advised to leave the building. As officers arrived on scene, Rung exited through a back door and went into the wooded area behind the home. A shot was heard, and his body was found a short time later.
As required, regional police called in the provincial Special Investigations Unit, a civilian law enforcement agency that investigates cases involving police and civilians where serious injury or death have occurred.
Monica Hudon, communications coordinator for the SIU, said the post-mortem examination was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Hamilton. Results were not available before press time, however.
Few details are being released about the incident as three investigators and two forensic officers from the SIU conduct a “thorough investigation,” which includes processing the scene and doing interviews with witnesses, Hudon said.
Next door neighbour Kelly Henderson said that police and news crews have been swarming around her neighbourhood, but few solid facts had been made available.
“There were a bunch of police cars and an ambulance and the fire team. They surrounded the neighbours’ house and were out in the backyard. They told us to go into the basement and just wait until they told us it was safe for us to come out.”
