Gunman shot in neck, leg

No charges are being recommended by B.C.’s police watchdog against Mounties who shot and killed a Kamloops man who took his ex and their children hostage west of the city two years ago.

Matthew Gustafson was shot and killed by police while holding his young child hostage outside a trailer at a work site off Deadman Vidette Road near Walhachin sometime after 3 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2022.

The shooting was the culmination of a six-hour standoff, preceded hours earlier by Gustafson taking his former partner and their two children hostage.

The Independent Investigations Office, B.C.'s police watchdog agency, launched a probe into the shooting, leading to a report released Thursday clearing Mounties of any wrongdoing.

According to the IIO report, authored by chief civilian director Jessica Berglund, no officer deployed force that was unreasonable, unnecessary or excessive given the situation, and all efforts to render first aid to Gustafson were made following the shooting.

A person with knowledge of the incident said at the time that it began when the woman went to pick up her children that she shared with Gustafson from him at his home on the outskirts of Kamloops.

Assaulted, taken hostage

The source said that at some point upon arriving at the trailer, the eldest sibling managed to run away and call a family member, who alerted police.

According to Berglund’s report, Gustafson “violently” assaulted his ex and took her hostage.

The woman told IIO investigators Gustafson locked her in her vehicle and, after firing a handgun out the car window, drove them to a remote construction site where he had been working.

According to police, a 911 call was received at 5:20 p.m. on Aug. 14 from a woman asking for help, who sounded as though she was calling from inside a vehicle. A short time later, a second call was received reporting an erratic driver on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Kamloops, with a woman attempting to get out of the vehicle.

Gustafson's ex-spouse told the IIO she tried repeatedly to escape, but Gustafson aggressively prevented her from doing so and broke into an office trailer at the construction site.

She told the IIO he spent the night consuming drugs and talked about making goodbye videos for his children.

Police arrived at the scene at about 9 p.m., responding to reports of the hostage-taking. They were aware Gustafson was armed with a gun.

Mounties were also responding to a report that Gustafson had earlier confined and violently assaulted another woman at his home. Police at the time said they found the woman bound and injured inside his home.

Gunman shot twice

Kamloops RCMP called in the emergency response team, which contained the scene and attempted to free the hostages and arrest Gustafson.

Gustafson’s ex-spouse said he decided to leave the trailer just before dawn.

He exited carrying his daughter against his body, her head close to his. He held her in his right hand and his handgun in his left as he walked toward the vehicle in which they arrived.

His ex-spouse reported that she followed him outside the trailer, several steps behind, when she saw a bright light switch on and police officers emerge from cover, shouting at Gustafson to get on the ground. She said she heard two gunshots, was pulled to the ground by an officer and taken, with her child, to a waiting ambulance.

Witness officers reported hearing “a short volley of gunfire” with one sounding distinctly different from the ones that followed.

Gustafson was initially hit with a 40 millimetre ‘less lethal’ impact round, which caused him to step back momentarily.

The unnamed police officer who fired the fatal shot told the IIO that he watched Gustafson walk toward the vehicle with the child and the woman following behind, according to the report.

He said he believed that if Gustafson reached the car, he would force his hostages inside and eventually kill one or both of them.

Loaded gun aimed at police

The officer said when Gustafson was struck with the less lethal round, he did not let go of the child or surrender, but instead appeared to be reaching to his waistband for his gun.

“I believed that he was attempting to access a firearm and use it to kill hostages or police,” the officer told the IIO.

He said he felt the only way to prevent this was to use lethal force and took aim at Gustafson’s left leg, opposite from the side of his body he was carrying his daughter — the largest area available to target without risking shooting the child.

The officer fired one round and Gustafson dropped to the ground, obstructing the officer’s view due to the tall grass around them.

The officer said he then ran toward’s Gustafson and heard his ex-spouse scream out “He’s got my kid.”

When the officer approached, he saw the child sitting in Gustafson’s lap. He said Gustafson had a gun in his hand and was raising it upwards.

“I quickly aimed at the upper body and shot the suspect again,” the officer told the IIO.

Gustafson fell backwards, the gun still in his hand.

The firearm was found to be loaded with a round in the chamber.

First aid was rendered to Gustafson, but he died at the scene. An autopsy found he had been shot in the thigh and neck.

The IIO report found that two police officers fired shots from carbine rifles at Gustafson. One of them missed.

Berglund said police applied force that was justified by Gustafson's actions and the threat he posed to his ex and children. She said it was “necessary and reasonable to use lethal force against him to prevent that.”