Shooter kills his partner and her father in Halifax, then dies by gunshot wound
HALIFAX – Police say the two people killed in downtown Halifax on New Year’s Eve were the victims of intimate partner violence.
They say a 39-year-old man shot and killed his 40-year-old partner and her 73-year-old father, then died by a gunshot wound.
The medical examiner’s office is confirming the victims’ deaths as homicides and investigating the shooter’s death as a potential suicide.
The victims have been identified as Cora-Lee Smith and Bradford Downey, her father.
Investigators say they responded to reports of an injured person on Gottingen Street at about 10:35 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, and discovered Smith and Downey in a vehicle.
Smith was dead at the scene and Downey was unresponsive and taken to hospital — where he died from gunshot wounds.
The shooter’s body was found at the nearby Halifax Commons about three hours later, and has been identified as Matthew Costain.
Police say Costain was known to be in a relationship with Smith and that investigators are not looking for other suspects.
They say a firearm was recovered at the scene.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 2, 2025.
Credit: Shooter kills his partner and her father in Halifax, then dies by gunshot wound
