Mass shooting rattles Canada as man charged with 4 deaths
TORONTO — Canadian authorities charged a man Saturday for the deaths of two police officers and two civilians in a shooting that struck a nerve in a country that has been roiled in recent months by several instances of mass violence.
Police in the eastern city of Fredericton, New Brunswick, said Matthew Raymond, 48, was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Horizon Health, which delivers care for New Brunswick’s Department of Health, said Raymond was the only person being treated for injuries related to the shooting. He is due to appear in court Aug 27.
The victims have been identified as officers Robb Costello, 45, and Sara Burns, 43, and couple Donnie Robichaud, 42, and Bobbie-Lee Wright, 32.
No motive has been disclosed.
Police said Costello and Burns were responding to calls of shots fired Friday at an apartment complex and saw two deceased civilians before being shot and killed themselves. Fredericton police Chief Leanne Fitch said Raymond used a long gun and was in an elevated position when he fired. Fitch said he was shot by police and was in serious but stable condition.
The last homicide in the city of about 60,000 people was in 2014.
The shooting comes as Canada wrestles with a string of violence, including last month in Toronto, where a gunman opened fire in a crowded part of the city, killing two people and wounding 13 before he died in the confrontation. In April, a man who linked himself to a misogynistic online community used a van to run down pedestrians in Toronto, killing 10 people and injuring 14.