Woman dead, man critically injured after falling 8 floors from Burlington apartment, SIU says

A woman is dead and a man is in critical condition after both fell eight storeysfrom an apartment balconyin Burlington, Ont., says Ontario's police watchdog.

TheSpecial Investigations Unit (SIU) says it isinvestigating because the falls occurred after police had responded to a call to the apartment and "were present" at the time.

SIU says Halton policewere respondingto reports of a gun around 10 p.m. Friday on Ghent Avenue.

The agency says after police knocked on the apartment door and had no response, they received another call about a woman falling from a balcony.

The SIU says officers administered CPR to a 24-year-old woman while they waited for paramedics to arrive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 29-year-old man who wasin the apartment alsofell from the balcony, SIU says, and is in critical condition.

"The woman fell first, followed by the man," said SIU spokesperson Kristy Denette.

CBC Hamilton asked the SIU if police had entered the apartment. The SIU said officers were present "at the scene at the time of the death of the woman and serious injury of the man," but did not clarify if that meant officers were inside when the falls occurred or nearby.

The SIU investigates incidents involving police that result in death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.