Relief, and grief
After the brutal, senseless slayings of three Mounties by a gunman who terrorized Moncton, few would have banked on a peaceful end to the nightmare that gripped the city this past week. It’s a relief that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police managed to get their man without further violence being visited on an already-traumatized community. It’s also a credit to their professionalism.
Given the resources the Mounties flooded into Moncton — close to 300 officers, aircraft, armoured vehicles and special services — the gunman’s takedown was all but a foregone conclusion. His surrender wasn’t. While he was unarmed at the time of his arrest weapons were found close by. Considering that this was one of the worst mass shootings in RCMP history, it ended as well as could be hoped and better than many expected.
As Prime Minister Stephen Harper rightly said, the loss of Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Const. Douglas James Larche and Const. David Joseph Ross was a “terrible tragedy” that left the RCMP family reeling. Const. Eric Dubois and Const. Darlene Goguen were also injured. While hardly unprecedented, mass police shootings are rare in Canada and elicit profound shock. The nation grieves the loss of brave officers, and honours their sacrifice. Every loss of this sort is a stark reminder that police put their lives on the line serving their communities.
Questions abound about 24-year-old Justin Bourque and the dark motives that drove him after he left the family home, quit his job and had what friends called a “radical restart.” Bourque, who police describe as the “main suspect,” now faces multiple murder charges. Given the ominous signals that he reportedly had been sending to friends and on social media there are also questions as to how he had not come to police attention earlier.
As the Star’s Allan Woods reports, Bourque was hostile to police and authority, obsessed with guns and gun rights and fixated on conflicts half a world away. “He wanted to go out with a bang and bring people with him,” a co-worker said, “he seemed to have a hate on for everything.” On a camping trip he spent the whole time clutching his rifle. He was increasingly isolated, told friends he used hard drugs and “he kind of looked sick.” His Facebook page featured dark lyrics from a Megadeth song warning “the worst is yet to come.” And after visiting a friend recently Bourque reportedly said “I don’t know,” when the friend urged him to stay in touch. “You take care, Mike. You have a good life,” he said.
Did anyone sound the alarm? Have Canadians become so inured to violent, nihilistic self-expression on social media, and in daily life, that we are blind to red flags when they appear? It is a question worth pondering. It is hard to believe that no one voiced a warning until a Rambo-like figure was stalking Moncton’s quiet streets, clad in military camouflage, brandishing a rifle, shotgun and other weapons. By then, the frantic 911 calls came too late.
This is a stark reminder that police risk their lives serving their communities