Police say shooting that left two dead was a murder-suicide

Police are investigating a murder-suicide at a home on Ponderosa Drive in Lake Echo, N.S.

Police in Halifax have confirmed a shooting that left two people dead in Lake Echo, N.S. was a murder-suicide.

Ponderosa Drive is typically a quiet suburban street but it turned into a crime scene on the weekend after police received a 911 call of shots fired at a home in the area.

They responded to the scene shortly after 8 p.m. Saturday

“There was cop cars, cop cars and more cop cars,” says area resident Bernadette Bellefontaine. “Then unidentified cars and more craziness happening, so we knew it wasn’t just a house fire because there were no fire trucks.”

When they arrived, police found a 47-year-old woman just inside the premises. Police say she had been shot and died a short time later.

Police delayed entering the home until just after midnight when the house was secure. They say an emergency response team entered the home and found the body of a 50-year-old man.

Autopsies were performed on the victims Sunday. Police say they both died of gunshot wounds.

“Once they’re completed along with the medical examiner’s report, that will be part of the investigation that will be turned over to the major crime investigators,” says Cpl. Scott MacRae.

Police say the couple’s teenaged daughter and her boyfriend were home at the time of the shooting. They say the boy ran up the street and told neighbours to call 911.

The identities of the victims have not been released but sources say they were Denise and Bryce Joudrey. Neighbours say he was a truck driver and she ran a hairdressing business out of her home.

Meanwhile, women’s shelters are speaking out against domestic violence.

Pamela Harrison works with victims of domestic abuse and she says she is concerned because incidents of domestic violence are on the rise.

“Certainly there’s no question we’re seeing more violence out in the open and the level of violence is much higher than we’re used to seeing,” says Harrison.

While domestic violence may be on the rise, Lake Echo residents are trying to come to terms with it happening close to home.

“You know, it’s shocking that these things happen,” says Bellefontaine. “But you know, realistically, things happen nowadays in homes that most people aren’t aware of.”

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jill Matthews