Police have released the Fredericton apartment complex that was the scene of Friday’s deadly shooting spree back to its owners, but residents may not be able to go home just yet.
Four people were gunned down at a four-building complex on Brookside Drive in the city’s north end.
Bobbie Lee Wright and Donnie Robichaud died in the shooting, along with responding officers Const. Robb Costello and Const. Sara Burns of Fredericton police.
Joseph Cartwright was at work that morning when he got the call from his girlfriend to say that there was gunfire and she and Cartwright’s four-year-old son were scared.
“I bolted from work. I couldn’t get any closer than the Tim Horton’s. I could hear the shots and I could see the apartment building but I couldn’t get here. As a parent that’s probably the worst feeling in the world, knowing there’s somebody shooting where your four-year-old son is,” Cartwright said Tuesday.
READ MORE: Residents move back into apartment complex after deadly Fredericton shooting
They were not in the same building as the shooter, but were only a few metres away. Police were able to get them safely out of harm’s way.
Cartwright said police kicked in the doors of a number of apartments in order to gain entry, but maintenance staff have since made repairs.
Other buildings still bear the scars of the tragedy. A window is smashed out in the third floor apartment where the shooter was located, while another window in that apartment has bullet holes.
A third floor apartment in another building located on the other side of a small courtyard also has bullet holes through its windows, and one bullet hole in the wall.
Cartwright, 30, said he’s planning to move out.
“I can’t let my kid and my girlfriend be traumatized every time they come home… I have to protect my family. That means getting out of here and getting them safe,” he said.
Calvin Cole and his girlfriend were in a basement apartment in the same building as the shooter when the shots were fired Friday.
He said they hid in the apartment and stayed put until police finally came to get them out.
Cole said it’s something he’ll never forget.
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“It’s probably going to be on the mind for a while. It’s going to be fresh because it’s a rare occurrence here in Fredericton. It makes me concerned heavily about my neighbourhood,” he said.
Cole, 26, said he’s on subsidized housing and will move as soon as a new place can be found for him.
Another tenant, who didn’t want to be identified, said she was in a basement apartment in another building, and just stayed on the floor.
“The scariest time was when the shooting stopped,” she said. “You didn’t know when it was going to start again, or where it would be coming from.”
On Monday evening, thousands of people turned out to express their grief, hold hands and show support for their city.
Jessica Millier said she organized Hands and Hearts Across the City as a way to bring people together.
People holding hands were lined across the walking bridge that spans the St. John River and along the walking trails that hug the shorelines on the north and south sides of the city.
“My city’s hurt, and they’re grieving, and they’re hurt deeply,” said Fredericton Mayor Mike O’Brien.
“This is a collective grief, a collective mourning. And we will collectively heal,” he said.
Meanwhile, people in Canada’s largest city were invited to sign books of condolences Tuesday.
The Toronto Police Service said it would make the books available in the main lobby of its College Street headquarters and later plans to present them privately to the families of the fallen officers.
Fredericton police have announced that a regimental funeral “to celebrate the lives of our fallen members” will be held on Saturday at the University of New Brunswick.
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An obituary for Burns said the 43-year-old mother of three boys fulfilled her lifelong dream of becoming a police officer three years ago, after more than 14 years as a stay-at-home mom.
“Not a day would go by when she didn’t say aloud, for everyone to hear, ‘I love my job,”‘ the obituary published on the McAdam’s Funeral Home and Crematorium website said.
Wright is remembered as a compassionate person who “loved to assist others” in an obituary published by Carleton Funeral Home and Crematorium in Jacksonville, near Woodstock, N.B.
“Affectionately known as ‘bubbles’, those that had the honour of knowing her well knew this described her perfectly,” it said.
The obituary said Wright graduated from Canterbury High School in 2003 and from New Brunswick Community College with a diploma in medical office administration in 2008. She had previously worked on a tree farm, catered and worked in an office before embarking on a career as a home support worker.
A public visitation was set for Wednesday between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., although there will be no funeral service by request.
An obituary for Robichaud said he is survived by a wife and three children, and there will be no visitation or funeral, in keeping with his wishes.
READ MORE: ‘He loved us a lot’: Fredericton shooting victim remembered as good father, loyal friend
Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, was charged with four counts of first-degree murder. He is set to appear in court on Aug. 27.
Police in Fredericton said the man accused in one of the deadliest shootings in New Brunswick history had a firearms licence and allegedly used a gun that can be legally obtained in Canada.
During a news conference Monday, police said the long gun investigators believe was used in the attack is commonly available for purchase, and is not a prohibited or restricted weapon.
Chief Leanne Fitch also urged the public to be patient, saying the police investigation is “very much active and is focused on finding facts.”
Fitch also confirmed one of the officers who responded to the shooting on the city’s north side was wearing a camera, although she wouldn’t say which officer.
Police said the body camera evidence was downloaded and provided to the RCMP as part of its homicide investigation.
The province’s Court of Queen’s Bench also issued a publication ban Monday on certain court documents in the case, hours after media reported their contents.
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