A Windsor family is in shock after the shooting death of a Calgary man.

David McQueen, 53, was born and raised in Windsor, but he moved west to start a family.

He was fatally shot in an incident with Calgary police on Sunday, after a two-hour standoff.

His family in Windsor is devastated by the loss, but hoping some good can come of the tragedy.

A tragic accident many years ago left him a paraplegic. Still, his family members say he rose above it.

His life was very difficult, especially in the last few years.

His sister wants her brother to be remembered not for how his life ended, but for how he lived it. 

“He was fun, he was loving and he was gentle,” says Kim McQueen.

McQueen says her brother David was also a proud father and a devoted son.

On Sunday night, David McQueen was involved in this incident with Calgary police. Police say it started when shots were fired on a city bus.

Calgary police say this is not targeted, multiple shots fired were indiscriminate.

No one on the bus was hurt, but a standoff began at his home. Two hours later, police say David McQueen exited his home armed with a weapon. Police shot back and he was fatally injured.

“The family found out, his two boys that live in Calgary, the boys found out, on the local television station,” says Kim McQueen.

McQueen says the family is still very upset they were never contacted by Calgary police during the incident and as they grieve in Windsor, they have more questions than answers.  What they do know is David McQueen's life ended too soon and was far from easy.

“I wouldn't say he was depressed, I would say Dave was frustrated and Dave was angry,” says Kim McQueen.

David McQueen was critically injured in a diving accident in 1994.

“He was diagnosed as an incomplete quad, the doctors said he would never walk again,” says Kim McQueen.

Buoyed by a desire to be a good father to his two young sons, McQueen did walk again, albeit with the help of a walker and a wheelchair for long distances.

“He needed help with everything and he was getting very minimal,” says McQueen.

McQueen had home care during the day, but not enough funding for help at night. In recent weeks, he was confined to his home because his wheelchair was broken and it needed to be taken away to be fixed.

“Which was fine, but when they did bring him the other chair, it was a manual chair, which if you're an incomplete quad, you can't move a manual chair,” says Kim McQueen.

Then McQueens' beloved dog Bear died.

“If Dave dropped something, Bear would pick it up for him,” she says. “He was his true companion. When he died a few weeks ago, Dave was devastated.”

Through it all, Kim McQueen says her brother called his elected leaders, speaking about the gaps in the health care system, to no avail.

“It wears on the person, at some point, it’s like ‘what’s next, what has to happen, for something to be done,” she says.

The family has no explanation for the way David's life ended, but they vow to keep pressing for improvements to publicly funded health care.

“I'm just someone who is listening can take that step, and help the situations that are out there with health care,” says Kim McQueen.