Five days after he was shot to death during an interaction with Hamilton Police, the body of Steve Mesic has been returned to his family.

A funeral will likely be held this weekend for the 45-year-old father-to-be, family members said Wednesday, and details will be announced shortly.

At the family's request, The Spectator had been withholding Mesic's name since last Friday, to give them time to notify relatives and to grieve in private.

Members of the family say they have sought legal advice and will not comment publicly on the shooting, or the circumstances leading to his death, until some time after the funeral.

"But believe me, we have things to say. Steve was well-known in the community and a lot of people have come forward with information," one family member offered.

Mesic, a 45-year-old former steelworker, was well-known and liked in the Croatian community and in local fitness and bodybuilding circles, friends say. People in those circles have been struggling to understand how Mesic could possibly have ended up dying in a round of rapid gunfire mere steps from his Upper Wentworth Street townhouse.

Just as difficult to comprehend are reports from eyewitnesses that suggest Steve jumped or stepped in front of cars, a truck and even a bus in apparent efforts to kill himself in the hour or so before his fatal interaction with Hamilton police.

"I think that the reason there is such a public outcry and anger (about the shooting) is because of the kind of person Steve was," friend Martin Sukan said.

"Anybody and everybody who knew Steve knows that he is not a troublemaker. He is a gentle soul."

Mesic had been an avid bodybuilder, a vegan, and extremely health-conscious for years, friends and family say.

He worked out daily — sometimes twice daily — and, at 45, had the physique of someone half his age. But, several people said, Mesic was no "tough guy."

"He often joked that he could not throw a punch if his life depended on it," Sukan said.

"People look at big muscles and tattoos and expect a harsh voice, but he was quite soft-spoken — there was never a harsh word with Steve," said Matt Fry, co-owner of the Century Fitness Gym where Mesic had, until a few months ago, trained faithfully for years.

Fry said bodybuilders have a reputation for a fierce focus in the gym, a turning inward, but Mesic was different.

"He was a very nice guy … there was no body builder attitude. He was willing to help anyone out with form or an exercise."

Family members also said that Mesic was devoted to his partner, Sharon Dorr, and had been looking forward to the birth of their child.

Although Mesic had been off work for some months, apparently due to injuries sustained in a solo motorcycle accident, he had worked for many years at National Steel Car.

He also collected guns — as many as 20, according to one acquaintance — and would take them for shooting at local ranges with friends. It's unclear if that hobby had any bearing on the events the day he was killed. He had signed himself out of the hospital that morning — to go for a walk, reportedly — and family members say he had no keys to his house with him, and therefore no access to his guns.

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