Moncton residents reflect after Ottawa shooting

MONCTON, N.B. – Moncton residents say what happened in Ottawa has been a disturbing reminder of the Moncton shootings in June.

Moncton resident Joanne Murray was in Ottawa on business when her meeting room got word that a soldier had been shot near Parliament Hill.

“Within minutes, you could see the room people doing the same thing, sharing phones and gasps and so on,” she said. “It was pretty surreal to look and see that unfold in front of you.”

Murray was one of many Moncton residents caught in a 30-hour lockdown in June.

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RCMP locked down a large part of the city’s north end while they searched for a shooter who wounded two officers and killed three others.

She said the experiences have left her shaken.

“Is this something everybody’s going to experience?” she asked.  “I’m not sure that sits very well with me and I’m not comfortable with that.”

Diane Martin was also caught in Moncton’s lockdown zone.

She said when she heard about the Ottawa shootings, her thoughts went to her daughter.

“My first thought was ‘Oh my goodness, my daughter lives in Ottawa,'” she said, noting her daughter was also caught in that city’s lockdown area.

“She’s going to go through the same thing again.”

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Outside Moncton City Hall, flags fly at half mast to honour the soldier killed in the shooting.

For many, it’s a grim reminder that what happened in the nation’s capitol resonates with Moncton residents.

“I had some flashbacks of when we had the lockdown in Moncton,” said Sophie Mallet. “So it was really sad to see that once again something like that happens.”