Local and Provincial Reaction To Moncton Shootings

Three Moncton area RCMP officers have been killed and two others wounded as a result of a Wednesday evening shooting by a gunman. 25 year old Justin Bourque is the accused shooter and he is in hiding, thought to be in a wooded area in North Moncton. Swat teams and scores of police officers are on standby in the area. Residents in nearby homes are remaining inside with their doors locked and a large portion of the city of Moncton is closed today. Bourque is said to be armed and very dangerous. Meanwhile, on the South Shore, Bridgewater Police Chief John Collyer says he is shocked by the developments in Moncton. He says there is little he and his officers can do other than to show their support for the slain Moncton police officers’ families and the rest of the Codiac RCMP detachment. Chief Collyer says: “Our thoughts are with them. Obviously, we are following it very closely, same as everybody else, through social media and the media.”
At RCMP Nova Scotia headquarters in Halifax, media relations officer Cst. Tammy Lobb says the shootings are difficult for everyone to grasp. Cst. Lobb tells us: “Our thoughts and prayers are with our policing familiy in New Brunswick and the friends and families of our fallen fellow officers.” Premier Stephen McNeil says the shootings are a terrible blow to police forces and people everywhere. He says: “There is no way of comprehending what has happened. This entire province, this entire country, our thoughts and prayers are with them.” The Nova Scotia government has annouced all flags across the province on provincial buildings are being lowered in honor of the police officers who lost their lives. Nova Scotia’s Oppostion Leader Jamie Baillie says the events in Moncton go to show how police officers put their lives on the line everyday to protect the public. He says: “Unfortunately, even in the Maritimes, as we now know, we’re never completely safe, none of us are. Mostly for today, I am very sorry for the families who are going through such a horrible loss.” Names of the slain police officers have not been released yet.