Amid grief, Jorden McKay's family asks: Why did police shoot to kill?

The bewildering questionsof Lisa McKay-Greening's new reality oflosing her brotherin a burst of violence replay themselves over and over in a painful loop.

"You close your eyes, and you're just there, and you're saying, what could've happened? What could Idone differently?" she told CBCNews.

Jorden McKay, 27, was shot by an on-duty Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officerTuesday night in Corner Brook, and died an hour later in hospital.

McKay-Greeningsaid her family has been given no explanation as to how that confrontation went so wrong.

• Ontario officers arrive in Corner Brook to probe police shooting of Jorden McKay

• Man shot dead by RNC officer, OPP to investigate

"My brother is dead,and I just want to know why. What could've happened for them to do that to him?" she said.

"Why shoot to kill?"

'He loved his children'

The tragedy on Tuesday night stands in stark contrast to McKay's mood earlier that day, said McKay-Greening. She said hewas upbeat, after spendingthe day filing an application to go back to schoolin an effort to turn his life around.

"He loved his family, he loved his children. He would do anything for anybody, and that's just the person he was. He wanted to better himself," she said.

McKay, a father of two, alsohad a lengthy criminal record, most recently charged justthree days before the shooting, for assaultand breaching a court condition.

McKay-Greening herself said she had bailed him out, and was on the phone with him when officers knocked on thedoor of his rental apartment on Carriage Lane lateTuesday. She said she heard two officers, and "they were angry." Her brother then hung up the phone.

"My gut told me to go there," she said.

With her daughter in tow, the two arrived at McKay'sto see an ambulance and police cars. The ambulance left and police wouldn't provide any information at the home, she said.

"What happened in those 10 minutes that it took me to get to his house?" she said.

Questions, and more questions

With no answers, she, her daughter and McKay's mother headed to the hospital, where McKay-Greening said they waited for hours before being brought to a private room to speak to the medical team and police.

There, they were told by police at about 3 a.m. that McKay was dead. According to police, McKay died in hospital at about 12:30 a.m.

"My mother begged, and we begged, like please tell us what happened. What happened? They said we can't tell you what happened," she recalled.

"They just said there was going to be an investigation."

About two hours later, McKay-Greening learned via a post on social media that her brother had died because he was shot by an on-duty police officer.

Members ofthe Ontario Provincial Police have been dispatchedin Corner Brook to investigate the shooting. That investigation will in turn be reviewed by a police oversight agencyfromAlberta. The two RNC officers involved have been placed on leave while these investigations are underway.

Police run-ins

As McKay-Greeningrecounted the last few days to CBC, her composure wavered and broke multiple times. But she also was frank about her brother's frequent run-ins with police and pointed to that frequency as one of the mystifying aspects of his death.

"I know they got to do their job," she said.

My brother is dead, and I just want to know why.- Lisa McKay-Greening

"They've dealt with Jorden enough to know, he would neverthere's no report saying he would ever attack a police officer."

McKay-Greening added McKay was peaceful whenarrested on Sunday, with those officers even taking him to McDonald's before putting him behind bars.

No matter what else happens, she said she'll continue to press for answers.

"My brother is dead,and Ijust want to know why, what could've happened for them to do that to him."

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