New Brunswick RCMP have confirmed that three officers were shot and killed and two other officers were wounded by a heavily armed gunman Wednesday evening in Moncton.
A police manhunt is still underway for Justin Bourque, 24. The RCMP say Bourque is considered "armed and dangerous."
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Paul Greene, an RCMP spokesman, said Bourque was last seen in the wooded area near the Pinehurst subdivision. Police are asking people to keep their doors locked and leave their outdoor lights on.
RCMP Const. Damien Theriault could not say how many police officers were involved in the manhunt.
Theriault, visibly emotional during a news conference, asked the public not to disclose any information about the police operation or locations of officers on social media.
Moncton-RCMP-Shooting
Police officers take cover behind their vehicles in Moncton, N.B., following the shootings of five people, including three RCMP officers. (Ron Ward/Moncton Times & Transcript/Canadian Press/Associated Press)
One witness near the scene of the shooting told CBC News he saw one officer bleeding from a wound toward the top of her head.
The witness said the RCMP rushed her away in a police cruiser. Hospital staff confirmed some of the victims arrived at the hospital in police cars.
Dr. Dhany Charest, the chief of staff at the Moncton Hospital, said two gunshot victims related to the tragedy were being treated. A third patient was being treated from a separate gunshot incident that occurred on Wednesday evening.
The hospital remains on lockdown with police and security guarding the building. The hospital had declared a "code orange" requiring all available staff to come to the hospital, but that was lifted around 1:30 a.m. AT.
''Oh my God, there he is with camouflage and the headband and a gun, and it looked like a bow he had with him. And I mean he was just through our backyard.''
- Joan MacAlpine-Stiles, Moncton resident and witness
Hospital staff said the two people injured in the shooting are in stable condition. They could not confirm these people were RCMP officers, nor the gender of the injured.
Officials said operating rooms are being kept clear in case there are more casualties.
A police helicopter is flying in the area.
The RCMP said the police received a call at 7:20 p.m. AT about a man wearing camouflage and carrying guns.
Greene said additional police resources from across New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island are in Moncton to assist the RCMP in the manhunt.
As of this morning the city is on lockdown and the shooter is still at large, though an enormous man-hunt is underway.
My biggest question is obviously what's in this guys head. Some combination of severe mental illness, not-going-to-jail attitude and militant background?
Also wondering about his armament, given that this is Canada. Either he has automatics permitted by grandfathering, or got his hands on illegal assault weapons (or he modified his to be so).
Last edited by SCRawl on 2014-06-05 09:58am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason:Fixed the spelling of the name of the city of Moncton - SCRawl
According to some reports of those who saw his Facebook page, he's anti-police and *really* pro-gun. I'm putting my money on your standard "pry my gun from my cold dead hands" militant type, although what his kind is doing this far north is anyone's guess.
His facebook has lots of the typical pro gun stuff, and song lyrics being quoted. Feel sorry for the first responders, sounds like they had no idea what they were getting into. One witness video kind of shows one officer getting shot through a car, wish it was feasible to have the cars somewhat armoured, because it's like butter to modern ammunition.
"Somehow I feel, that in the long run, Thanos of Titan came out ahead in this particular deal."
News is currently reporting that one building is 'surrounded' by heavily-geared police, but I haven't seen anything to confirm he's inside.
Meest wrote:His facebook has lots of the typical pro gun stuff, and song lyrics being quoted. Feel sorry for the first responders, sounds like they had no idea what they were getting into. One witness video kind of shows one officer getting shot through a car, wish it was feasible to have the cars somewhat armoured, because it's like butter to modern ammunition.
Out of curiosity - why isn't it feasible? Weight and per-unit cost come to mind, but even light layer of ballistic material on each side of the car would give some degree of protection.
It's not like there aren't dozens of specialist companies that armour private vehicles.
Venator wrote:Out of curiosity - why isn't it feasible? Weight and per-unit cost come to mind, but even light layer of ballistic material on each side of the car would give some degree of protection.
Not from Rifle rounds. Any of the heavier stuff costs and it's not like cops get shot at every day like this: it's actually pretty rare. Added weight also means more strain on the vehicle, which means more upkeep, and can also change how the car handles making it dangerous to drive. And I don't think even ballistic glass windshields will hold up to multiple .223 rounds.
Fair point. I was under the impression that two spaced layers the lighter stuff, while not stopping a rifle round, would do enough to slow or upset the trajectory it to make it somewhat less lethal.
The weight of the heavy armour and all the problems that entails, though, no question.
Looks like the surrounded building was a false alarm.
Emergency response team members had surrounded a rooming house and several residents emerged with their hands up, the Telegraph Journal reported. Multiple snipers appeared to have been in position.
Two eyewitnesses to the standoff, who arrived after the residents left the house, were standing outside a bowling alley directly across the rooming home just a couple hundred feet away. They said a small, black robot played a large role in the police sweep.
But despite all the commotion and tension, by about 3:30 PM local time, the officers had retreated from the standoff and the armoured cars and trucks peeled off, leaving the anxious spectators down the road curious as to what had transpired.
Not sure how much of trend this is, but the recent news of the Seattle shooting had people tackle the gunman, with a low capacity shotgun. Seems the only times citizens have contained the gunman is a jam or reload, it helps lower the scale of the destruction at least. On the other hand the minimum shots heard in the RCMP shooting was 5, even with a 5 round max(possibly more) he was able to kill armed trained responders. No magic fix I guess but what mental health changes can really happen? When does a guy being too far left or right of "normal" do they intervene. The Santa Barbara guy fooled a wellness check, so it's clear they need to update and look at current standards.
"Somehow I feel, that in the long run, Thanos of Titan came out ahead in this particular deal."
Shooter is in custody. Credit to the police, I didn't think they would give him the chance to surrender after he killed three of their own.
Meest wrote:Not sure how much of trend this is, but the recent news of the Seattle shooting had people tackle the gunman, with a low capacity shotgun. Seems the only times citizens have contained the gunman is a jam or reload, it helps lower the scale of the destruction at least. On the other hand the minimum shots heard in the RCMP shooting was 5, even with a 5 round max(possibly more) he was able to kill armed trained responders.
Canada has pretty restrictive rules on rifles - maximum of ten rounds, no automatics, but we also have some rather inane loopholes; you can remove the pin that's restricted a larger magazine to ten shots pretty easily, for example. And while you do felony time for sawing off a shotgun, shotguns sold with short barrels are fine and dandy. And even ten rounds from a semi-automatic fired by a skilled shooter like this guy can be devastating.
As a firearms interested Canadian, I can provide the following info: All centre-fire semiautomatic rifles with a removable magazine are restricted to 5 round magazines. Bolt action and non-removable magazines are limited to 10 rounds. Rim-fire rifles have no magazine size limitations. Since those are limited to .22 calibre, it hasn't ever been an issue, really. Levels of restriction apply to all firearms in Canada. Rim-fire rifles and bolt/lever/pump action rifles are unrestricted. Some centre-fire semi-automatic rifles are unrestricted, typically those that are fairly long. AR-type rifles have a blanket restricted classification, as do pistols. A pistol with a barrel length equal to or less than 105mm is prohibited, as are .25 or .32 pistols. Sawed-off weapons are prohibited, so are fully automatics and 'any firearm that is proscribed by regulation to be prohibited'. (Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course Student Handbook, 2008).
Removing the limiting device on a magazine that was originally designed for more rounds than permitted (such as a 30 round magazine for an AR that is pinned to 5 rounds as required by law) makes that magazine a 'prohibited device', in the same category as a sound suppressor. Possession of such a device is a felony. Even just owning a standard magazine for an AR is a felony. "Individuals may not acquire prohibited devices...Depending on the nature of their duties, employees of businesses and carriers, and public officers ... may possess prohibited devices". (Canadian Restricted Firearms Safety Course Student Handbook, 2008).
"Twinkie, twinkie, cupcake." Chris Costa, MagPul Dynamics
The guy in question is, by looking at interviews with friends and acquaintances, looking more and more like a severe anti-authority type with really, really poor impulse control and zero risk assessment ability.
He's described as coming from a strongly religious, home-schooled environment, having problems with authority in general (he was fired from his job at Walmart, where he apparently even told co-workers about how he wanted to go out in a blaze of furious combat), and being enthusiastically pro-gun and pro-militia, sharing slogans like "free men don't ask permission to bear arms", espousing strong libertarian views online and starting a Facebook group for his anti-police rants.
