A man who fired up to 19 shots at an RCMP detachment in Vanderhoof, B.C., two years ago has been convicted of a slew of firearms charges, but deemed not guilty of attempted murder.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Francesca Marazari delivered the verdict on Tuesday, ruling the Crown had not proven the specific intent to kill an individual necessary to secure a finding of guilt on the most serious charge.
The basic facts of the case were proven without a doubt, Marazari found.
The court heard that on Nov. 25, 2021 37-year-old Paul Nicholas Russell pulled up to the Vanderhoof detachment in a white pickup truck, wearing a fedora and mirrored sunglasses.
Using a rifle, he initially fired six shots at a pair of RCMP vehicles, then two shots at windows on the building’s west side, one of which went through a detachment window, piercing an office manager’s computer monitor before lodging in a fax machine.
He then fired four more shots at the font of the building, before driving away and returning five minutes later when he fired seven more shots, two of which entered windows of the detachment, before ramming an RCMP vehicle and driving away.
No one was injured in the shootings.
Police waited until he began to leave before exiting the building and starting a pursuit. A text message alert was sent to residents’ phones in the area and the local schools were placed on lockdown.
Mounties spotted Russell about half an hour later near his home, and pursued him with lights and sirens activated. Russell ultimately collided with an RCMP vehicle before pulling over in a parking lot where he was arrested without further incident.
The court heard audio recordings from inside an RCMP vehicle as Russell was being transported to cells in which he said he didn’t understand what was happening or why he was being arrested.
“The officers at the time of arrest generally agreed that he was ‘fairly flat’ in his presentation and agreed that he seemed confused, maybe a bit dazed, or in shock,” the ruling states.
“The arresting officers who testified generally agreed that he had a ‘blank’ expression staring straight ahead, and was not initially responsive to orders. One officer agreed that information seemed like it was ‘not computing.'”
The court also heard significant evidence in about a deterioration in Russell’s mental health in the months leading up to the attack.
His mother testified she began to have concerns in the summer of 2021 when he said he was speaking with a dead uncle, at which point she took him to the hospital for a psychiatric assessment.
Later that summer he was detained under the mental health act after calling 911 himself, and telling police he was working with British spy agency MI6 and doing security for the Vancouver Olympics.
“I accept his mother’s evidence that she perceived from her discussions with Mr. Russell and his doctors that Mr. Russell was drinking excessively and that this was causing him to perceive threats and events that were not present,” the judge found.
“For example, he would see fire-fighting helicopters in the sky and describe them as spy planes. He would treat a thermometer as if it was a spy device. Mr. Russell was prescribed various medications.”
Russell’s mother also testified that he was prescribed psychiatric medication, which she was concerned he wasn’t taking during the fall. The court heard that investigators retrieved a bottle of medication with 10 pills left that should have been empty if he was taking them as prescribed.
It also heard he had listened to a voicemail from the firearms registry the week before the attack telling him he may need a medical certificate to keep the estimated 20 firearms he legally owned.
“The overall impression I obtained from Mr. Russell’s family members was that Mr. Russell generally respected and admired the police, and identified himself with military or paramilitary structures,” the judge found.
“There was no evidence that Mr. Russell had expressed negative or hateful attitudes towards the RCMP.”
While Russell was acquitted of the attempted murder charges, Marazari convicted him on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, careless use of a firearm, flight from a peace officer, mischief causing danger to life and mischief over $5,000.
Following the verdict, the National Police Federation, the union representing RCMP officers, issued a statement on social media calling the verdict “insulting and unfathomable given the current environment of increasing police officer deaths and the workplace safety concerns they face.”
“Our Members and all workers have a right to be safe in their workplace — especially in their detachment, which is also a place where you will find visiting members of the public and civilian employees.”
Russell is due back in court on Aug. 15 on an unrelated charge of assault with a weapon alleged to have taken place in Prince George a week before the Vanderhoof shootings.
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