Residents in the quiet Fredericton, N.B., neighbourhood where four people were shot dead on Friday morning have described the chaotic scene.
Two police officers, Const. Lawrence Robert Costello and Const. Sara Mae Helen Burns, were among those gunned down in the early morning shootout. The two other victims have only been identified by police as an adult man and woman.
The chief suspect, a 48-year-old man from Fredericton, is in hospital with serious injuries.
鈥淭he cop was literally standing outside my window firing his gun off,鈥� witness Justin McLean told CTV Atlantic.
McLean said at first the exchange of gunfire outside his home seemed 鈥渦nreal.鈥�
鈥淚 went to my back window, I saw people lying on the ground and I realized something was going on.鈥�
David MacCoubrey woke up to the sound of gunfire outside.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know if it was firecrackers or a car going off or something,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey woke me up around 7:07 a.m. I went and used the washroom and it continued about five minutes later.鈥�
MacCoubrey added that it was then he knew it wasn鈥檛 kids playing and was in fact a serious situation. He said he dropped to the floor of his apartment and stayed there until the all-clear was given.
Darren Hill, an owner of a business located a block from the scene, said a profound sense of sadness has descended on Fredericton.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those situations where you think 鈥榥ever here鈥�, but here we are,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 starting to sink in. I can鈥檛 believe that two law enforcement officers have passed and two citizens. It鈥檚 very unnerving.鈥�
Jeff Magnussen, the general manager of the West Hills Golf Course in Fredericton, N.B., was getting the day鈥檚 first golfers out onto the course early Friday morning when he heard a few 鈥減ops.鈥�
He dismissed them as nothing to worry about, but the steady stream of sirens that soon followed was unusual for the tranquil, largely residential neighbourhood, he told 麻豆影视 Channel.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥楳aybe it is something a little bit more than just noise,鈥欌�� he said.
A series of tweets from Fredericton police after 8 a.m. helped Magnussen to fill in some of the blanks.
Police had apprehended a suspect in connection with a shooting in the area of Brookside Drive that left four people dead, including two police officers. The suspect, who has not been identified, was being treated for serious injuries.
鈥淚鈥檓 a little speechless to be honest with you,鈥� Magnussen told 麻豆影视 Channel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very upsetting.鈥�
The shooting occurred as many people, such as local resident Rachel LeBlanc, were on their way to work. She told 麻豆影视 Channel that she heard four gunshots as she arrived at the daycare centre where she鈥檚 employed, which is located 鈥渆xtremely close鈥� to where the shooting occurred.
A police dispatcher told LeBlanc to go on lockdown with the children that had already arrived. She said that she was trying to get the kids into their normal schedule and planned to go about a regular day with them despite the extraordinary circumstances occurring just outside.
She assured parents that their children were 鈥渧ery safe,鈥� but told 麻豆影视 Channel that she was still trying to process the morning鈥檚 events.
鈥淚t happened right by my home,鈥� she said. 鈥淥f course, I was calling my husband frantically telling him to lock the doors鈥t鈥檚 been very scary.鈥�
Scott MacLeod, a local funeral director, works down the street from the location of the shooting. One of his employees called him to say that he could not get anywhere near the building, so Macleod told the rest of his staff to stay home.
Shortly thereafter, he told 麻豆影视 Channel, he was told to open the funeral parlour to help house some of the people who had been displaced as a result of the shooting.
鈥淚 deal with death and dying every day,鈥� Macleod said, but added that the morning鈥檚 events were still 鈥渟hocking.鈥�
Residents described the area where the shooting occurred as a small, quiet neighbourhood where seniors are out strolling and children frequently rollerblade together. Many kept themselves apprised of the morning鈥檚 events by following social media or tuning into news coverage.
Scott Hill, a local business owner, said he was told that the shooting happened in an apartment complex near his business. He saw a number of police officers, as well as two SWAT vehicles, on the street outside.
鈥淚 grew up on Brookside Drive,鈥� he told 麻豆影视 Channel. 鈥淚t鈥檚 surprising and shocking. How could this happen here?鈥�
The town is so small, he said, that he was certain he would know at least one of the dead police officers.
Travis Hrubenik, who moved to the area roughly one year ago from Winnipeg, Man., told 麻豆影视 Channel that the shooting 鈥渉its a little close to home鈥� because he has a brother who is a cadet.
鈥淲hen we were first coming here to look for a place to live, one of the taxi drivers joked that the most serious crime he ever remembered was having change stolen out of his car,鈥� he said.
Marlene Dougherty, another local resident, said she was 鈥渁nxious鈥� and too scared to even look at her window.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just unbelievable,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel.
Elizabeth Hanton, a local resident who has lived in the area for nearly 30 years, said some residents may have mistaken the sounds of gunshots for those of local construction crews, which have been working in the area for weeks.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a steady soundtrack of digging and hammering and the rest of it,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel, adding that the quiet that had descended upon the area after the shooting was 鈥渆erie.鈥�
Hanton said Friday鈥檚 events triggered unpleasant memories of the shooting rampage in Moncton, N.B., in June 2014 that left three RCMP officers dead.
鈥淎fter the shootings happened in Moncton, I felt as if we鈥檇 gone from living in one place to living in a totally different world over the course of a couple of hours,鈥� she told 麻豆影视 Channel. 鈥淭his is a club no one wants to be part of, and Fredericton seems to have joined it.鈥�
鈥淭o me it鈥檚 another Moncton all over again,鈥� said resident John Gardner.
