The Ontario Provincial Police officer killed in an early-morning shooting in eastern Ontario is being remembered as a “coach,” a “mentor” and someone who “everyone looked up to.”
Police said that just after 2 a.m. on Thursday, officers from the Russell County OPP detachment were called to a home on Laval Street in Bourget, Ont., about 50 kilometres east of Ottawa, after someone reported a disturbance and said they heard a gunshot.
Three responding officers arrived at the home and were shot, police said.
Officers said they were taken to hospital in Ottawa — where one of the officers later died.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique later identified the deceased as 42-year-old Sgt. Eric Mueller.
An ‘exemplary officer’
Speaking to reporters Thursday afternoon, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said Mueller was killed while “simply, selflessly serving his community.”
Carrique said Mueller was an “exemplary officer” who had 21 years of service with the force.
Carrique said Mueller was hired as a provincial constable in 2006, and was promoted to a sergeant in 2018.
“He’s described by his colleagues as a coach, a mentor, someone that everybody looked up to, the glue that held the ship together, the best leader that many people ever had the privilege of working for,” Carrique said.
Carrique said the force’s “hearts are broken” as they remember Mueller.
“We stand beside his family and we focus our attentions on the recovery of the officers who have been physically injured and emotionally impacted,” he said.
Carrique said one of the injured officers who was taken to hospital was released and is recovering at home.
The other injured officer remains in hospital where he is undergoing treatment. He is in serious but stable condition, Carrique said.
The two officer’s identities have not been released, but Carrique said they are both “veteran members” of the force.
A 39-year-old man was taken into custody in connection with the incident.
In an update Thursday, police said Alain Bellefeuille, 39, from Bourget has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was remanded into custody.
Condolences pour in
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the news of the shooting “awful.”
“I’m sending my deepest condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of @OPP_News Sergeant Eric Mueller, who was killed in the line of duty, and I’m keeping the two injured officers in my thoughts,” he wrote in a tweet Thursday.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Mueller’s death “devastating news.”
“My thoughts are with his family and friends,” Ford wrote in a tweet. “Please join me in praying for his fellow officers as we await word on their condition. May God bless our heroes in uniform.”
Canada’s safety minister, Marco Mendicino, called the news “heartbreaking.”
“My thoughts are with the loved ones of OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller, who made the ultimate sacrifice while on duty, and his two colleagues who remain in hospital,” he said.
Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw shared his condolences in a tweet Thursday.
“On behalf of the @TorontoPolice I want to express my deepest condolences to Sgt. Mueller’s family and friends, as well as all members of @OPP_News and community members across Ontario,” he wrote. “Our prayers are with all of you and the injured officers.”
Mueller’s death marks the fifth Ontario police officer killed in the line of duty since September.
“Canada has lost 10 officers in the line of duty, nine of which were murdered,” Carrique said. “Today with the murder of Sergeant Eric Mueller — that makes five police officers in the province of Ontario that have been murdered since September.”
-with files from Gabby Rodrigues
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