Details emerge about suspect in OPP officer's death
More details are emerging about the suspect in the Thursday killing of a police officer in the eastern Ontario community of Bourget.
One Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer was shot dead and two others were injured in what OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique is calling an "ambush."
Police identified the officer who was killed as Sgt. Eric Mueller.
One of the injured officers, who is 35, was treated and released from hospital Thursday. The other, who is in his early 40s, remains in hospital in stable condition.
Police said in a news release Thursday afternoon that they had arrested 39-year-old Alain Bellefeuille.
Bellefeuille was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. According to the Criminal Code of Canada, murder is automatically considered to be in the first degree when the victim is a police officer.
The charge sheet lists Bellefeuille's last known address as being on the same street where the shooting occurred.
He has three prior convictions: theft of $5,000 or less in 2009, and two traffic violations in 2019.
Bellefeuille appeared in court via video call from custody Thursday afternoon. He seemed fatigued and spoke with a hoarse voice.
A legal aid lawyer speaking on his behalf told court that Bellefeuille was "extremely tired" and hadn't slept since the incident occurred. Bellefeuille didn't wish to be questioned by police until he'd had some rest, the lawyer added.
Bellefeuille selected Ottawa-based criminal defence lawyer John Hale to defend him moving forward, the lawyer said.
His next court appearance is set for May 18.
What we know
Just after 2 a.m. Thursday, Mueller and two other officers responded to a report of a gunshot at a home on Laval Street in Bourget, Carrique said at a Thursday afternoon news conference.
Bourget is located about 50 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa in the municipality of Clarence-Rockland.
When they arrived, all three were shot by someone in the home, OPP said. The officers were taken to hospital in Ottawa, where Mueller died and the other two were treated for their wounds.
WATCH | What happened on Thursday:
Carrique said it is his understanding the residence belonged to the shooter. He labelled the event an "ambush," citing how quickly the officers were shot after arriving.
Other OPP officers later arrived and were able to safely take the accused into custody, Carrique said. Officers from the Ottawa Police Service assisted the OPP Thursday.
Carrique said police recovered an unspecified type of long gun at the scene but added that a determination on whether it was the weapon responsible for the officers' injuries is part of the ongoing investigation.
The names of the two injured officers are protected by a statutory publication ban, the courthouse told CBC.
The Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ontario's police watchdog, is not investigating the case. A spokesperson told CBC in an email it doesn't appear police seriously injured anyone.
'Senseless' tragedy
Charles Bordeleau, who was Ottawa's chief of police from 2012 to 2019, said he woke Thursday morning to a pit in his stomach.
Bordeleau said he attends a memorial service for slain officers each year, hoping no new officers will be killed on the job.
"But the sad reality is that we continue to add names to that long list of officers who have been killed in the line of duty," he said.
Five Ontario police officers who died in the line of duty this past year were honoured in Toronto on Sunday. Since September, Carrique said 10 officers across Canada have died in the line of duty.
WATCH | The officers killed this year:
Mark Baxter, president of the Police Association of Ontario, said officers are angry and frustrated by recent police deaths.
"It's just so senseless and tragic," he said. "We need our police to be safe when they're at work. Policing is a noble and necessary profession."
Baxter said the entire policing community is mourning.
"Everyone who goes to work should be able to get home to their family, to their children, to their partner when their shift is over."
