Bradley Traynor, left, and Adelaide Traynor, right, were both shot dead in their family home. Photos via social media.
Police are trying to figure out why a man drove over 2,000 kilometres to kill his brother-in-law and three of his sister’s children last week.Police identified the victims shot dead in Oshawa, a town 60 km east of Toronto, as Chris Traynor, 50, and his children, Joseph, 11; Adelaide, 15; and Bradley, 20. All were killed inside their home early Friday morning. Police described the scene as “grisly” in a Friday press conference. Loretta Traynor, 50, Chris’s wife and mother of the children, was also shot but survived and is recovering in hospital.The couple’s only surviving child was away at university at the time of the shooting.Mitchell Lapa, 48, the suspect, was also found dead at the scene. Lapa, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, “is a relative of the family and was an uninvited person to the home,” Durham Regional Police said in a statement. “Lapa was the sole shooter in this incident and he died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”According to media reports, Lapa is the brother of Loretta Traynor—a 2019 obituary for their father shows both their names. The Toronto Sun spoke to someone who described Lapa as “mentally unstable” and wasn’t surprised to hear he had committed acts of violence. Police are asking anyone who knew Lapa to contact them. Chris Traynor was a teacher at Monsignor Paul Dwyer Catholic High School in Oshawa.“He was always kind and understanding and just a great teacher overall,” a former student of Traynor’s told Durhamregion.com. “Honestly, one of the few teachers from Paul Dwyer that I remember and have such fond memories of.” A GoFundMe for the surviving members of the family has raised over $129,000 as of Tuesday morning. The page describes the family as “beloved and active members of the Oshawa community.” “Their acts of kindness, love and generosity are unmatched,” it says. “The impact the family had on everyone they touched will be forever remembered.”Follow Mack Lamoureux on Twitter.
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