Trudeau attends Fredericton Pride parade

FREDERICTON — Two days after four people were gunned down in a quiet Fredericton neighbourhood, the city’s Pride parade went ahead Sunday, with the mayor saying: “There’s a way to celebrate even in the midst of this grief.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went to Fredericton on Sunday to attend a Pride-related event and meet with police officers and their families as he offered his condolences to the community. He laid flowers outside police headquarters.

Mayor Mike O’Brien said the parade was a way for Fredericton’s residents to begin healing in the wake of the shooting that killed Bobbie Lee Wright, Donnie Robichaud, Const. Robb Costello and Const. Sara Burns at a northside apartment complex.

“It’s a way for our community to start rebuilding our faith in community and having a celebration,” O’Brien said Saturday.

It began with a moment of silence, and parade organizers said on Facebook they were marching “in appreciation of our Chief of Police Leanne Fitch, the first responders and all the officers who risk their lives on a daily basis to keep us safe.”

The Fredericton Police Force said Sunday that a regimental funeral will be held for Burns and Costello. Details have not yet been released.

There has been an outpouring of grief in the small city, with residents stopping by the police force’s headquarters to drop off flowers, notes and teddy bears.

Ten children lost a parent Friday morning — Burns was married with three kids, while Costello was a father of four, and Robichaud had two teenage sons and an older daughter.

Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder and is set to appear in court on Aug. 27.