TRACADIE-SHEILA, N.B. – A Northern New Brunswick community is in mourning as they realize the loss of friend and colleague Michel Vienneau.
The 51-year-old man was fatally shot by police in Bathurst, N.B. on Monday. He was reportedly returning from a trip to Montreal and was near the VIA Rail train station in Bathurst when he was shot.
While the circumstances around his death are being investigated by Nova Scotia RCMP, friends are expressing grief at the loss of the businessman from Tracadie-Sheila.
Speaking to Global News in French, Stephane Sonier fought back tears looking at pictures of his longtime friend.
“Everything that Michel did for me, everything was good,” he said. “It’s hard because Michel was a super great guy. He was a guy who was always smiling.”
Vienneau’s photos show off that smile. Sonier said he’s not sure why police fatally wounded his friend or if he was involved in any illegal activity.
Regardless, he said, Vienneau did not deserve to die.
“I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.”
Vienneau owned an electronics store in Tracadie-Sheila. On Wednesday, the store was locked up, but sympathy cards had been slipped under the door.
Across from Vienneau’s store, Anne-Marie Brideau runs a second-hand music and video shop. She described Vienneau as her confidant.
“For me, Michel was not just a friend. He was a brother to me,” she said.
Brideau said if her friend was a part of a police investigation, she wishes police would be more forthcoming with that information.
“If there is a reason, because there is a reason everything happens, but nobody, nobody should die that way,” she said.
“It’s terrible.”
No further details on the shooting have been released.
Vienneau’s wake is being held in Tracadie-Sheila on Friday and the funeral service will be on Saturday morning in Sainte-Rose.
Vienneau’s partner Annick Basque could not be reached for comment.
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