A man from the Hamilton area is facing a second-degree murder charge after police say he killed someone who appeared to be stealing a truck from his driveway.

Peter Khill, a 26-year-old former Canadian Forces reservist, is charged after a man died in his driveway in the Binbrook area in the early morning hours on Thursday.

An adult male seemed to be stealing a truck from Khill's rural home on Regional Rd. 56, on the outskirts of Hamilton, police say.

A resident of the home spotted him.

The Glanbrook home, just off of Highway 56, where a man was shot and killed early Thursday morning. (Dave Ritchie/CBC)

Khill, "while armed with a firearm, confronted the man," police say. Police found the man they say was trying to steal the truck on the driveway beside it.

He had life-threatening injuries, and he died on scene from "gunshot related" wounds.

Khill was arrested and charged at the scene. Police say Khill and the victim, 29-year-old Jonathon Styres from Oshweken, Ont., didn't know each other. The home is located on Highway 56 between Golf Club Road and Regional Road 20.

The road has been blocked all day and police expect the road to be closed into the evening.

Moved in last year

Khill, a mechanical field specialist with General Electric in Mississauga, hadn't lived in the house long. A property search shows he bought it last July. A neighbour, Scott Moodie, says Khill lived there with his girlfriend.

A native of Wilsonville, Ont., Khill won a trades and apprenticeship award from Waterford District High School, and after attending Mohawk College, went on to serve as a millwright and machinist. At GE, he worked as an aeroderivative gas turbine specialist, his online profile said.

He also served as a reservist with the Canadian Forces in Brantford from January 2007 to September 2011, his online resume says. While there, he received "several artillery qualifications and training on different weapon systems."

Hamilton lawyer Derek Martin has been asked to represent Khill. Martin says he expects there will eventually be a trial.

Of Khill's state, "He's obviously concerned," Martin told CBC News.

Khill appeared in Hamilton bail court via video feed on Thursday afternoon, and is in custody until a bail hearing on Feb. 9.

A post-mortem for Styres is scheduled for Feb. 5.

It is the city's third homicide of the year.