‘I am scared to death’
It was a quiet morning in a peaceful New Brunswick neighbourhood. Then shots rang out, two police officers and two civilians were killed, and a community was left in mourning
Fredericton police are in mourning after a multiple shooting in a quiet residential area claimed two of their own officers and two citizens early Friday.
Police Chief Leanne Fitch said the victims were Const. Robb Costello, 45, and Const. Sara Burns, 43, and two civilians — a man and a woman — who remain unidentified.
“This is the worst moment for any chief of police in any police agency to have to deliver this news,” Fitch told a news conference.
A Fredericton hospital, Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional, “is currently treating multiple victims of today’s shooting,” the local health authority said shortly before noon.
A 48-year-old Fredericton man was in custody and was being treated for serious injuries. Police did not reveal what kind of firearm was used in the shooting.
Jackie McLean, Costello’s commonlaw partner, said a police inspector told the family the news Friday morning.
“He loved being a police officer and he lived for being a police officer,” she told The Canadian Press in an interview.
“He is the only police officer who I have ever known who could write someone a ticket and have the person thank them after.”
She said Costello had left their home at 6 a.m. Friday for an early shift.
“He used to always say to me that it did not matter what happened, that he would always come home … and this is the first day that he has not come home,” she said.
The shooting incident began at an apartment complex on Brookside Dr..
Louise Kennedy, 75, who lives with her dog in the area near Brookside Dr., said the shooting began in the building next door at about 7 a.m. local time.
“I am just shaking … I am scared to death,” she said.
“The police were here earlier and wanted me to leave, but I said I couldn’t leave my dog behind …
“The police officer told me to stay away from the windows and to lock the doors.”
In a tweet, Fredericton police said there is no further threat to the public.
Officers had closed off the area near Brookside Dr. following the shooting, and asked residents to stay in their homes with their doors locked.
Police also asked media not to post information “about the position or activities of police or first responders” while the investigation was active.
David MacCoubrey, who lives in an apartment complex at 237 Brookside Dr., told the Star it sounded like gunshots were being fired right outside his bedroom window.
MacCoubrey heard the first few shots fired and thought it might have been kids playing with fireworks. He then heard more and more shots and called the police, who he said were already aware of the situation.
“There has been about 15-16 shots fired,” he told the Star shortly after 9 a.m. local time.
MacCoubrey said police told him to stay low and away from the windows. He said police had already searched his apartment, looking through closets for anyone hiding.
He lives in a complex made up of four buildings and believes the incident started there unless it happened somewhere else close by, he said.
Tim Morehouse, another resident of the complex, told The Canadian Press he heard someone shout: “Shut up! Shut up!”
He said he heard two gunshots, and then three more. He said he looked out his window and saw the body of a man on the ground, in the back parking lot of 237 Brookside.
He called 911, then he heard more shots and he looked out his window and saw two police officers on the ground.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was closely following the “awful news coming out of Fredericton.”
“My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning’s shooting,” he said in a tweet.
Also in a tweet, Mike O’Brien, the mayor of Fredericton, said, “Our hearts are broken by the murder of our two brave police officers.”
Travis Hrubeniuk, 27, said his fiancée had just left for work around 7:45 a.m. when he began hearing a steady stream of sirens.
The Winnipeg native, who lives immediately off Brook- side, said residents have been advised to stay inside with their doors locked.
The quiet residential neighbourhood, dominated by houses, grocery stores, a church and an elementary school, is the last place Hrubeniuk said he expected to encounter a dangerous situation.
“This is the first time I’ve even heard of any serious crime or violent crime in this city,” he said. “It’s a little off-putting that way, and I’ve been here for about a year.”
Bill Henwood, a funeral director at York Funeral Home, spoke to The Canadian Press from behind one of the police road blocks. The business is lo- cated inside the cordoned off area on Brookside Dr.
“The lockdown occurred before we were able to get into work this morning so nobody’s actually in the building,” he said.
Henwood said people are sitting in their cars or just standing near the blockade of police and fire vehicles “hanging tight and waiting for word” on what comes next.
“All the businesses even on the outside of the lockdown area have their lobbies and their business areas closed. They aren’t letting customers in at the moment.”
Henwood said the situation is a shock.
“It’s not something that we expect in Fredericton to wake up and hear about. To see that there’s actually fatalities is pretty extraordinary for this area it doesn’t normally happen.”
McLean said she and Costello had been living together for five years. He has two adult daughters from a previous relationship, she said, adding that the entire family is in shock.
“One thing that Robb was very adamant about was that if something ever to happen to him he did not have a sad funeral, he wanted to have a party with lots of laughs and happy memories,” she said. “I am hoping that we will be able to put something like that together.”
A large group of Fredericton police officers were gathered early Friday afternoon outside the Chalmers hospital, and appeared to be consoling each other. They watched as the hospital’s New Brunswick and Canadian flags were lowered to half-mast.
By Friday afternoon, a memorial of flowers and messages was growing in front of the Fredericton police station. Among the messages: “We love you our brothers and sisters in blue! Thank you for ALL that you do!”
Another read: “Fredericton Police Force, your city has your back!”