Questions remain after suspect arrested in Amherst
Shannon Falconer could not believe it when she looked out of her home and saw the area surrounded by “heavily armed” police officers.
She lives next door to where Janson Bryan Baker, the man suspected of shooting another man near a high school in Riverview, N.B., was arrested in downtown Amherst on Wednesday.
“My boyfriend went out to get coffee and when he came back he said there was something going on next door. When I went out, there were cops everywhere with guns and they had the suspect on the ground,” she said. “It was pretty scary. It scared the crap out of us, to tell you the truth.”
She wasn't sure what was going on until her mother and then her aunt reached out to her to tell her to be safe.
Just before noon, Baker, 24, was arrested without incident at an apartment building on Eddy Street near downtown Amherst.
“We were keeping a close eye on a residence on Eddy Street because we were concerned he may be in the area,” Amherst Police Chief Dwyane Pike said in an interview just after the arrest was made.
“About noon, we had some activity there and we ended up in a position where we were able to arrest the person of concern.”
Baker is suspected of shooting another man outside Riverview High School at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday and then fleeing the scene. The 35-year-old man remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
"We believe the man was approached by an individual he did not know in a black Hyundai Elantra who demanded his bag," RCMP Const. Hans Ouellette said Wednesday.
CTV News is reporting that the wounded man is a teacher and school basketball coach, who was confronted and shot by the man trying to rob him.
Ryan Beattie, who works in the autobody shop across the street, saw the police presence and was impressed with how quickly the situation was contained.
“They did a fantastic job,” said Beattie. “They went in hard with firepower. They weren't taking any chances. They had the situation under control very fast.”
Beattie said he saw a couple of people being arrested behind the apartment building as well as a person out front.
He believes a couple of people in the building may have decided to run.
The arrests were made 19 minutes after Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office issued a public alert.
The Nova Scotia-wide public safety alert was issued by the province's EMO at 11:42 a.m. The office received the alert request from the Nova Scotia RCMP at 11:35 a.m., said an EMO spokeswoman.
Earlier, New Brunswick RCMP said the black 2020 Hyundai Elantra driven by Baker was found abandoned in downtown Amherst but he remained at large.
With Baker crossing the New Brunswick-nova Scotia border, many people took to social media and demanded an alert be issued across Nova Scotia, similar to the one issued in New Brunswick late Tuesday.
Elizabeth Smith-mccrossin, PC MLA for Cumberland North, woke up Wednesday and saw the alert from New Brunswick RCMP on her phone.
She checked social media to see Baker was still on the lam. Then, shortly after 8 a.m., she learned his vehicle had been found in downtown Amherst.
"I called RCMP, town police and our Department of Justice to inquire about why there hasn't been an emergency alert sent out and that I wanted it done immediately," Smith-mccrossin said in a phone interview Wednesday afternoon.
"It was done over three and a half hours later. That is a failure."
Smith-mccrossin said she expected the public alert to be sent out faster, especially after the Portapique tragedy eight months ago.
"There's no need of this. It shows that there's been really a lack of leadership since the Portapique murders, the fact that this has not been fixed," she said.
"It's just very disappointing and a huge safety risk. Thankfully, no one was killed in our community this morning, but it could have easily been that outcome and people weren't provided that information."
Smith-mccrossin said she's grateful for the Amherst Police Department and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick RCMP, but is hoping for better communication to the public in the future.
Former Cumberl and-Colchester MP Bill Casey, who has been critical of the RCMP'S plan to close its telecommunications centre in Truro, was also disappointed people in the Amherst area weren't alerted sooner.
“They issued an alert in Moncton but not in Amherst, even though they knew the car was here,” Casey said. “I just think it's wrong. Are we in two different countries?”
Casey said someone he knows called the YMCA'S child-care centre after he heard about what was taking place and found no one there was aware of the situation.
“The kids were all playing outside,” Casey said. “No one knew about it.”
Wednesday morning, RCMP said residents in the Greater Moncton area could go about their day but urged them to do so with caution. However, all schools in the Anglophone East School District were cancelled.
In Amherst, schools were closed because of the extended Christmas holiday, but pre-schools and other businesses in the area were open. Several businesses in downtown Amherst closed their doors temporarily after Amherst police sent out a notice urging people to stay away from the area.
RCMP said Baker remains in custody and will be brought back to New Brunswick, where he will be scheduled to appear in court.
While RCMP aren't releasing the type of firearm used in the shooting incident, they have confirmed it is not a BB gun.
New Brunswick RCMP said overnight, a 33-year-old Riverview man was brought in for questioning in connection to the incident, but he was later released.
In May 2016, Baker was arrested in relation to a bank robbery in Moncton.
At the time, New Brunswick RCMP said two suspects, one carrying a weapon, entered the bank with their faces covered and demanded money. After taking an undisclosed amount of cash, they fled in a vehicle driven by a third person.
Baker and two others were charged with armed robbery.