‘He was very nice’: Family and friends remember Penticton shooting victim

The brother of a man shot during an altercation with Penticton RCMP on Tuesday afternoon says he was experiencing a mental health crisis and would like to see police receive more training on how to de-escalate a situation.

Seth Murray says his brother Matthew was only 33 years old when he died.

“Friendly, he was very nice,” Seth told Global News.

“He always took care of his friends.”

On Tuesday, RCMP responded to multiple 911 calls about a man acting erratically and brandishing a knife on Government Street, near the hospital.

Witnesses said they saw a police officer and the victim engage in what is described as a “fight” before the officer opened fire.

“He had severe depression and high anxiety, and I mean, he didn’t feel comfortable in a public place,” Seth said, adding that his brother lived alone in an apartment and was not a drug addict, but that he might have was off his medication at the time.

“I think he had a nervous breakdown,” he said.

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Man dies after police-involved shooting in Penticton

Matthew’s ex-girlfriend told Global News that he had been going downhill in recent months.

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Miranda Sajna said Matthew was recently hospitalized for mental health reasons.

Seth added that his brother’s loved ones wonder why less-lethal means weren’t deployed or a mental health worker sent with police.

“If that had been implemented, we might not have a body today,” he said.

He hopes his brother’s death highlights the need for more training for police to handle mental health cases.

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RCMP shut down part of downtown Penticton after the shooting

B.C.’s police watchdog confirmed it is now investigating the police-involved shooting.

Matthew’s family and friends are eagerly awaiting the outcome of that investigation to hopefully learn more about what went wrong that fateful day.

For now, they say they will remember a soft-spoken man who had a great laugh.

“He had a really intoxicating laugh,” Seth said. “It was funny and I mean it always brought a smile to my face whenever we were together.”

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