Neighbours barely knew killer

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This article was published 09/09/2020 (1998 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mitchell Lapa made sure if something happened to him while he was living in Winnipeg, the person to contact was his sister Loretta — the Ontario woman whose family he killed last week in a crime that has rattled people in the quiet Oshawa neighbourhood.

Police have identified the dead 48-year-old Winnipeg man as the lone gunman in a horrific multiple slaying Friday. Loretta’s husband, Chris Traynor, 50, and the couple’s 20-year-old son, Bradley Traynor, 15-year-old daughter, Adelaide Traynor and 11-year-old son, Joseph Traynor were shot to death.

Loretta was wounded and is recovering in hospital. The couple has a university-aged son who wasn’t home at the time.

Lapa, who lived in an apartment in Fort Richmond, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after driving 2,000 kilometres to Oshawa to kill his relatives.

Winnipeg police obtained a warrant and searched Lapa’s apartment Friday afternoon and evening. He moved into the suite at 99 Dalhousie Dr. in late 2018 and listed his sister as the emergency contact on his rental agreement.

A man who lives one door over from Lapa said he saw the tall, quiet man infrequently in the hallway. The University of Manitoba international student, who didn’t want to give his name, was dumbstruck by the tragic news.

“I don’t even know what to say,” he said. “So horrible. I did not know why the police were here.”

Lapa wasn’t the outgoing type, said the block’s on-site manager.

“Honestly, he kept to himself. I’ve had neighbours come and ask me, ‘Hey, so like, what’s going on?’ No one was close to him here,” said the woman, who spoke with the permission of A.S.H. Management Group Inc., which manages the property, asking that her name not be used.

“It’s such an unnerving thing.”

Oshawa police have said little about the shooter, other than he was an “uninvited person,” as investigators seek a motive behind the violence that occurred in the family home.

A white Ford F-150 truck with Manitoba licence plates was parked at the scene in the quiet neighbourhood.

Lapa moved into the Fort Richmond neighbourhood around the same as he started working for BGIS Canada Inc., as a building maintenance technician.

A request for an interview with Lapa’s supervisor in Winnipeg was turned over to BGIS Canada’s national office in Markham, Ont.

“I can’t share personal details but yes, Lapa was an employee of ours. He was a technician with us,” said company president Mike Greidanus, who confirmed the man started working with the company in late 2018.

“A technician in our company would typically be someone who works inside buildings and does support of building systems… maintenance on heating and cooling, plumbing, etc.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell