Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, from Fredericton has been accused of killing Cst. Lawrence Costello, 45, Cst. Sara Mae Burns, 43, Donald Robichaud, 42, and Bobbie Lee Wright, 32, in the August 10 shootings that shocked the New Brunswick city. Raymond was announced as the suspect in a press release from the Fredericton police department. The shootings occurred at around 7:10 a.m. along Brookside Drive in the city. The police have said that Raymond will appear in court on August 27 to answer to four charges of first degree murder. Authorities have not said what Raymond’s connection to Robichard or Wright may be. Fredericton Police Chief Leann Fitch described the investigation as “complex” and said that a long gun has been recovered in the investigation. Authorities have said it is the gun used in the Fredericton shooting but authorities did not say if it was registered to Raymond. Chief Fitch said that Raymond was situated in an “elevated position.”
The local police are pleading with the public to upload any photos of videos of the incident here.
CBC reports that in the aftermath of the attack, Raymond was taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries. The network says that at 9:30 a.m, over two hours after the shootings, police arrested the suspect after entering an apartment he was holed up in. The CBC report adds that the window of the apartment showed evidence that tear gas canisters were used in the arrest. Raymond was injured during gunfire with police.
Fredericton Police ForceCst. Lawrence Robert Costello.
Cst. Costello and Cst. Burns were the first to respond to a call regarding shots fired at an apartment building in the 200 block of Brookside Drive on the north side of Fredericton. They were shot shortly after responding to the scene. The deputy Fredericton Police Chief Martin Gaudet said the pair were shot as they approached Robichaud and Wright, who had already been shot. Costello was a 20-year police veteran. Burns had been on the job in Fredericton for two years. She was married with three children, reports CTV News.
Costello’s common-law wife, Jackie McClean, told CTV News, “He used to always say to me that it did not matter what happened, that he would always come home, and this is the first day that he has not come home… One thing that Robb was very adamant about was that if something ever to happen to him, he did not have a sad funeral. He wanted to have a party with lots of laughs and happy memories.”
Cst. Sara Mae Helen Burns
Burns’ husband, Steve Burns, paid tribute to his wife in a Facebook post that detailed his wife going back to school at 35 to study criminology at St. Thomas University and attending the Atlantic Police academy. Steve Burns is the founder of IT company Bulletproof, reports Global News. In his Facebook post, Steve Burns wrote, “My beautiful and talented Sara Mae is now the latest City of Fredericton Police Officer. She has been on this path for almost 4 years now starting with getting criminology degree and going back to school at the age of 35 while helping raise our boys… then having to leave home and the boys for 6 months to follow her dream at the Atlantic Police Academy, then going through the entire process with the city over the past year, but it’s all been worth it because as of 8:20 this morning she is now sworn in!”
Facebook/Bobbie-Lee Wright
Robichaud’s cousin, Sean Callahan, told the Toronto Star that his cousin and Wright had just started a dating relationship in August. That information is backed up by a Facebook post from Wright on August 2. Callahan told the Star there was “nothing back you can say about” Robichaud. He added, “When I got a message yesterday asking me if Donnie got shot, I was like, who in the hell would want to shoot Donnie Robichaud?” Robichaud was a father of three. CTV News reports that Robichaud was a local musician who was enthusiastic about motorcycles.
A Go Fund Me page has been set up for the victims of the attack. That page describes the Fredericton shooting as an “unfathomable event.”
