Two Police Officers, Others Killed In Canada Shooting
Two police officers were among four people killed Friday
in a shooting that sparked panic and a police lockdown in a sleepy
eastern Canadian city, as the nation grapples with rising gun violence.
Residents of the Brookside neighbourhood of Fredericton, New Brunswick woke to the sounds of multiple gunshots.
Witnesses
told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) they saw the barrel of
a rifle or shotgun poking out from the window of a low-rise apartment
building and firing into a courtyard, while two bodies lay on the ground
nearby.
Heavily-armed police, paramedics and firefighters quickly
descended on the scene and a lockdown of the neighbourhood was ordered,
trapping some early risers in daycare facilities, coffee shops and
businesses.
Others were escorted from their homes — some still in pyjamas and barefoot — to safety beyond a police cordon.
Fredericton
Deputy Police Chief Martin Gaudet told reporters the two officers
killed were responding to an emergency call about gunshots. They were
identified as Lawrence Robert Costello, 45, and Sara Mae Helen Burns,
43.
“Upon arrival (at the apartment building), they observed two
civilian victims on the ground. That’s when they (police) were shot,”
Gaudet said.
Authorities in the provincial capital, about 75
kilometres (45 miles) from the border between Canada and the US state of
Maine, had initially urged people in the neighbourhood to stay indoors.
They
described an “active incident” on Twitter before confirming the deaths
and arrest. The suspect was being treated for “serious injuries” related
to the shooting incident, police said.
Gaudet said police entered
the shooter’s apartment in the residential area of the city north of
downtown and arrested a 48-year-old man. No other information was
provided about the suspect or the events.
“It’s been a very
difficult day for our officers and the residents of our fine city as we
come to terms with the violent death of four of our people in our city,
two of which, as you know are officers,” said Police Chief Leanne Fitch.
Gun pointing out of window
Public
broadcaster CBC quoted Justin McLean, who lives in the area, as saying:
“I woke up and I heard gunshots and I looked outside my window.
“The
cops were trying to put one of the officers in their vehicle to take
them out to safety,” he said, adding that he tried to help but was told
by the officers to take cover.
“I never saw the shooter but I saw the barrel of his gun pointing out of the window.”
The
mass shooting is the second in the province in recent years, and comes
only weeks after a man opened fire on July 22 in a bustling Toronto
district, killing an 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl while
wounding 13 other people.
The incident triggered a public debate on rising gun violence and gangs in Canadian cities, and calls for a handgun ban.
“Most
crime rates (in Canada) are going down and have been going down for
several decades. But the incidents of violence with firearms have been
going up over the course of the last five years,” Public Safety Minister
Ralph Goodale said.
He said local police would be leading the investigation, suggesting there was no concern for national security.
“Awful news coming out of Fredericton,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted.
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning’s shooting.”
Bouquets
of flowers and notes of condolences amassed outside the Fredericton
police station, while a local church scheduled a prayer vigil for Friday
evening.
In 2014, three federal police officers were killed and
two more were injured after responding to an emergency call about an
armed man roaming a residential neighbourhood of nearby Moncton, New
Brunswick.
A 28-hour manhunt ensued before police caught up to the
suspect and arrested him, in what was described as the second-deadliest
attack on Canadian police since four Royal Canadian Mounted Police
officers were ambushed on a Mayerthorpe, Alberta farm in 2005.
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