Three families are featured in Hold Your Fire and it is impossible to describe the depth of their sorrow. Losing a loved one suddenly is terrible for anyone. Losing them violently is worse yet. And losing them violently at the hands of someone you trusted is profoundly sad and difficult to comprehend. Michael MacIsaac’s widow, Marianne, describes it as “absolute horror.”

Michael MacIsaac with wife Marianne

Another common thread linking the families is a sense that their loved one was not only killed but also somehow blamed for their own death. In the various attempts to explain their actions, police focused on what they saw as a threat, and that was generally the first story told publicly. David Boyd said his son was portrayed as a brute – until a video surfaced years after the shooting that revealed Paul Boyd was on his hands and knees when the final shot was fired.

Paul Boyd on the right, with his father, nephew and sister