Two people have been charged with first degree murder following an Ontario Provincial Police officer was fatally shot on Tuesday followingnoon.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Constable Grzegorz Pierzchala was regarding to respond to a vehicle in the ditch near Hagersville in southern Ontario when he was shot, police said. PPO in a press release.
Constable Pierzchala, 28, was taken to hospital injured and was pronounced dead a short time later.
A few hours earlier, he learned that he had successfully completed his 10-month probationary period as an officer of the Ontario Provincial Police. He conducted his first solo patrol hours before his death. OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique confirmed that Grzegorz Pierzchala was alone when he answered the call.
The two suspects, a 25-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman appeared in court in Cayuga on Wednesday.
Randall Mckenzie, 25, and Brandi Stewart-Sperry, 30, have each been charged with one count of first-degree murder.
They are both due in court on January 17.
Grzegorz Pierzchala is the fourth police officer killed since September in Ontario. An officer lost his life on September 12 in Mississauga. Two others also died by gunshot on October 11 in Innisfil, an hour from Toronto.
