Gun used in Fredericton killings is legally obtainable

FREDERICTON — Police say a Fredericton man charged with killing four people Friday had a firearms licence, and the long gun allegedly used in the deadly shooting can be legally obtained in Canada.

Police Chief Leanne Fitch said Monday the long gun is commonly available for purchase, and is not a prohibited or restricted weapon.

At a news conference outside the Fredericton Police Department, she also said one of the officers that responded to the shooting at a north-side apartment complex was wearing a body-worn video camera.

She said the footage is part of the evidence being examined by a team of investigators. Fitch added police officers in Fredericton are equipped with body armour and carbine rifles.

Friday’s shooting claimed the lives of Bobbie Lee Wright, Donnie Robichaud, and responding officers Const. Robb Costello and Const. Sara Burns.

On Monday, mourners continued to add flowers, notes and teddy bears to the memorial outside Fredericton’s police headquarters, as the usually placid New Brunswick capital grapples with the shooting deaths of four people, including two police officers.

People dropped off coffee and snacks for officers, while others handed out cookies in the midst of the emotional crime scene.

Outside police headquarters, people stopped to sign a giant Canadian flag hanging outside the station or add to the growing memorial of that has been building since Friday.

Nancy Slade, back home for a visit from Petawawa, came to lay sunflowers with her six-year-old daughter, Molly, and three-yearold son, Dane.

Slade, the daughter of a Fredericton police officer who was friends with Costello, said she wants her kids to understand the sacrifice made by officers.

“It’s just not supposed to happen here,” she said, her voice catching. “It’s never happened here, so it’s just really hard.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his son, Hadrien, went Sunday to police headquarters to lay flowers at the memorial.