29-year-old Fireman Rudolph Matura's priorities were taking care of his children and advancing in career, two things that were unexpectedly taken away from him when he was murdered on Friday. In his case, death came through a window as the fireman was at work, sitting. On an old couch watching youtube videos.
Now the family and friends of this firefighter of eight years are left in shock. Courtney Menzies has this story.
A fireman in line for a promotion was gunned down at his workplace on Friday. 29-year-old Rudolph Matura had just arrived at work and was watching YouTube videos to pass the time when he was shot in the left temple and just above his mouth.
His body was found just before 6:30 sitting in a brown chair with the phone still in his hand. His sister, Stacey Matura, said that this is the second death their family is faced with in the last six months.
Voice of: Stacey Matura, Sister of Deceased
"He was well known as "handsome blacks." Lot of people knew him, nobody know my brother as a trouble boy. He was a jovial person, he always happy and always willing to make friends. All I could tell you, miss, is that they chance my brother."
"This shocked us completely, catch us off guard. I just got like, about five months I bury my son that the gas truck knock down to make this happen to us again before the year done. This hurt."
Courtney Menzies:
"And he never once confided in you that he felt like he was in danger?"
Stacey Matura, Sister of Deceased
"In a way I don't really want to get into those details, like I tell you, all I could say is that they chance my brother."
And while Matura's sister refrained from giving too many details, the police revealed that he was in a previous altercation. They are now looking for a named suspect.
Joseph Myvette, Head, NCIB
"What the police know so far is that Mr Matura along with another fireman had reported for duty sometime just before 6pm on Friday and while they were inside the office, a male person whose description was not properly given, came to the window, where he produced a handgun, and fired several shots in the direction of Mr Matura, fatally injuring him."
"We know that sometime about a month ago, he had had an altercation with several persons where he was beaten, he did go in and make a police report concerning the incident and shortly thereafter he went back and withdrew that report requesting no court action. So those persons are also being looked at in relation to this investigation."
His second family, the firefighters in Punta Gorda, are also mourning the loss of their brother. The Officer Commanding at the station told us the team was close-knit, and is now requesting counselling services for the other firemen.
Reporter:
"Was he in any trouble?"
Chadwick Foreman, OC, Punta Gorda Fire Service
"Not that I know of because the gentleman was an individual, he keeps to his personal life, and we don't intervene when it come to personal thing, when it come to a job we get our job done."
"He's a respectable guy when it comes to being on duty although he has his medical condition, so that is something that we try to cope along with him and we try to look after his health condition because there's several times that he got sick here on duty and we would be the one to look after him."
"Since I took over here in July we were just working together and him and myself we just got a certificate of completion of our next promotion, and he was up for a promotion for a leading firefighter."
Now, Matura's three young kids are left without a father, and Matura's sister said that there will be no Christmas for their family this year.
Matura had one 4-year-old child and two 1-year-old children. He also leaves behind his common-law wife.
