Ontario mother shot by man involved in Amber Alert speaks out

The mother of an Ontario woman who police say was shot and killed by a man in a Brampton parking lot told Global News she is in disbelief.

Police said the man, who was also the focus of an Amber Alert Tuesday, was then shot and killed by a police officer early Wednesday.

Karen Kulla said her daughter, who Karen identified as Savannah Kulla, 29, went to meet Anthony Deschepper, 38, after agreeing to allow her to spend a few hours with their 17-month-old granddaughter. Karen said her daughter was a mother of four.

During their meeting, Karen said Savannah had been shot and killed.

“I can’t believe she’s gone,” Karen said. “She’s so, so beautiful. She always stood her ground on things and she was smart and pretty and we loved her.”

On Tuesday, around 2 p.m., Peel Regional Police responded to reports of a woman shot in the parking lot of a shopping center in the area of ​​Airport Road and Queen Street East in Brampton. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

Karen said her daughter and Deschepper were previously in a relationship but broke up a few months ago.

“She told me about a month ago, ‘If I stay with him, he’ll end up killing me,'” Karen said.

Karen said she suggested her daughter get a restraining order. “She said to me, ‘It won’t do anything, Mom. He just won’t leave me alone.'”

She recounted when police showed up at her door Tuesday to tell her the news of her daughter’s death.

“The officer said, ‘She’s dead.’ I mean, I don’t even know what I did. I probably screamed. I don’t even remember it. She’s the youngest of my three. I love it so much. I can’t even imagine life without her.

Karen says police told her the fatal shooting followed an argument over a diaper bag.

“From what I heard, he told her, ‘I need the diaper bag.’ She said, “I’ll have it.” He said ‘you forgot the damn diaper bag’ and all I heard was three shots,” says Karen.

Hours later, an Amber Alert was issued across Ontario shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday for a one-year-old girl. Deschepper is named as a suspect.

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Police told reporters the girl was seen in the back seat of the vehicle driven by Deschepper, but was dropped off with family members. The Amber Alert was ended and police said she was “safe.”

They also said it was believed to be a case of domestic violence, but would not elaborate.

Another alert was issued, this time by Niagara Regional Police, at 6:52 p.m. Tuesday for residents in the Crystal Beach area to shelter in place as Deschepper was believed to be in the area. That alert was lifted shortly after when police said evidence suggested he had left the area.

Early Wednesday morning, Niagara police said officers found a vehicle at a gas station near Thorold Stone and Montrose roads in Niagara Falls with Deschepper inside. Following “an interaction with police officers,” he was shot and killed by police. No officers were injured.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit has invoked its mandate and is currently investigating this fatal shooting involving Niagara police. The SIU is an independent agency that investigates the conduct of officers when a person is killed.

Footage from the scene in Niagara Falls shows what appears to be a different make and model of vehicle than the Nissan reported at the time of the Amber Alert. SIU spokeswoman Kristy Denette said she could not confirm whether there had been a change of vehicle. She said there was also a woman inside the vehicle at the time of the Niagara police-involved shooting and it is believed the woman was on the driver’s side of the vehicle.

“There was a woman in the vehicle and we were trying to talk to her, but we haven’t talked to her yet,” Denette said. She was not injured and there were no children inside the vehicle.

SIU investigators are collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses, as well as surveillance video to “build a picture of what happened,” she said. She also noted that Peel Regional Police and Niagara Police are conducting parallel investigations into incidents involving multiple jurisdictions.

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Amber Alert suspect also wanted in fatal Brampton shooting, killed by police

Global News has also learned that Deschepper is wanted in 2023 for firearms offenses after being accused of discharging a firearm at a Brampton residence.

A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was arrested a few weeks later by Waterloo Regional Police. These charges were still before the courts and a trial date was set for 2026. He was out on bail awaiting that trial.

Karen said she asked Savannah if Deschepper had a gun.

“I told him, ‘You promise me he doesn’t have a gun. No, mom, I swear he doesn’t carry a gun, he doesn’t have a gun anymore.’ You know, it was bull.

“He actually drove her crazy on the phone. She changed her number and they got him again and he was literally telling her 50, 60, 70 times a day, he was tapping her phone. And sometimes she would talk to him, but she would say ‘stay away from me, leave me alone.'”

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