On Friday, Aug. 10, four people were shot and killed in Fredericton‘s north side.
Several new details about the fatal incident have emerged since.
Here’s what we know — and don’t know — so far.
What happened?
What we know:
Two police officers and two civilians were killed in a shooting early Friday morning in a north Fredericton residential area. Officials told reporters in a news conference that the officers who were killed were responding to shots fired at an apartment near Brookside Drive.
When they arrived, the responding officers found two civilians — a man and a woman — on the ground.
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“Officers engaged with the suspect and shots were fired by police,” said deputy chief Martin Gaudet. “Around 9:30 a.m., Fredericton Police Force entered into an apartment and arrested a 48-year-old man from Fredericton.”
Police set up a perimeter and placed the area on lockdown until approximately 11:04 a.m. AT, when police confirmed there was no further threat to the public and that lockdowns were not required.
The RCMP are handling the homicide investigation into the shooting, and the serious incident response team in Nova Scotia will be investigating the deaths of Const. Sara Mae Burns and Const. Lawrence Robb Costello.
Fredericton police have asked Canadians to continue watching social media over the next few days for more information about the tragic incident. On Friday night, RCMP could still be seen walking in and out of a three-storey brick apartment building, which was cordoned off by police tape.
What we don’t know:
It’s unclear when the apartment building where the shooting took place will be reopened, and over 50 people are now being provided with alternative housing as the investigation continues.
Who are the victims?
What we know:
Two police officers died in the shooting: Lawrence Robb Costello, a 20-year veteran of the Fredericton police and Sara Mae Burns, a two-year veteran of the Fredericton police.
Costello, 45, is survived by his four children and partner Jackie McLean, who’d been with him for four years.
Burns, 43, was identified later on as the second officer to die in the shooting. She is survived by her husband, Steven Burns, and three children. Burns had been a constable with the Fredericton police since March 2016.
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She had gone back to school at the age of 35 to study criminology at St. Thomas University and later attended the Atlantic Police Academy. Her husband, Steven, is the founder of the Fredericton-based IT firm, Bulletproof.
A third officer, who was also at the scene, found Costello and Burns on the ground, along with another man who was not moving.
Donald Adam Robichaud, a 42-year-old father of three, also killed in the shooting.
Robichaud’s partner, 32-year-old Bobbie Lee Wright, also died on Friday.
Robichaud and Wright were in a new relationship, according to his cousin, Sean Callahan. They had just gotten together at the beginning of August.
READ MORE: Community, family, friends mourn victims of Fredericton shooting
Callahan remembered his cousin as a loving parent who played bass and sang in a few local bands.
What we don’t know:
The number of people currently being treated in hospital for injuries related to the shooting is also unknown. A Fredericton hospital only said it was treating “multiple victims.”
What do we know about the suspect?
What we know:
Matthew Vincent Raymond, a 48-year-old Fredericton man, is facing four counts of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
Raymond was injured during the shooting, and remains in police custody. He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 27.
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What we don’t know:
His motive remains unclear.
How did the community react?
By Friday afternoon, a memorial of flowers and messages was growing in front of the Fredericton police station. Among the messages: “We love you our brothers and sisters in blue! Thank you for ALL that you do!”
Another read: “Fredericton Police Force, your city has your back!”
GoFundMe for victims’ families created
Scott Pettigrew, an army reservist who works for the multicultural association in Fredericton, started an online fundraiser to help support the families of the four victims.
He said he doesn’t know any of the victims personally, but just wanted to do his part to help what he called the “tight-knit community” of Fredericton.
“I was just looking to try to make an impact in some way,” Pettigrew told Global News by phone.
Pettigrew lives only a few kilometres from the incident.
“But you know it’s quite shocking especially when you’re in such a small community … you feel like it could be anywhere at any time. So it’s actually quite shocking,” he said.
GoFundMe officials said they will be working with Pettigrew to ensure the funds get to the right place.
Any GoFundMe pages set up for the shooting will be verified by the “GoFundMe guarantee.”
Prayer vigil held for the victims on evening of shooting
A vigil was held Friday evening, with more than 100 mourners packed into St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church.
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A display of candles had been set up in front of a board displaying a passage from the Bible: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” One by one, mourners stepped up to light the display.
As piano music filled the room, the mourners held flickering candles and wiped their eyes as they sang Amazing Grace.
Anglican Bishop David Edwards told the crowd that the candles represented “the light and solidarity with each other and with those who have been greatly afflicted and affected.”
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Funeral plans for victims
The city of Fredericton announced Sunday there will be a regimental funeral service for the two officers slain in Friday’s shooting.
No date has yet been released for the funerals.
— With files from Rebecca Joseph, Graeme Benjamin, Maham Abedi and The Canadian Press
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