SIU investigates whether OPP officer fired gun at scene of fatal Bourget shooting

Evidence suggests a surviving police officer may have fired his gun at the scene of a fatal shooting in Bourget, Ont., Ontario's police watchdog says.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) issued a news release Tuesday that said the evidence, shared by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), suggests an officer "discharged his firearm" during the incident on May 11.

The detail is new information, previously unreleased by police.

The shooting took place just after 2 a.m. on May 11, killing Sgt. Eric Mueller and injuring two other officers. They had responded to a report of a gunshot at a home on Laval Street in Bourget, police said.

An OPP forensic team found the evidence the next day that suggests one of the two surviving officers fired his gun, the SIU said.

The OPP previously said all three officers were shot at by someone in the home. The officers were taken to hospital in Ottawa, where Mueller died and the other two were treated for their wounds.

The SIU said nobody was struck by the shot fired from an officer's gun, but the incident now falls within its mandate because of the potential discharge of a police firearm.

'Big hole' in police narrative

The SIU previously told CBC it would not investigate because police did not appear to have seriously injured anyone.

Michael Smith, a criminal defence lawyer in Ottawa, previously told CBC there was a "big hole" in the police narrative. Smith wondered about the time between when the officers were shot and when the suspect was arrested by other responding officers.

"The contrast — shooting at these officers and then being co-operative — there's quite a bit there that needs to be explained," Smith said.

Three investigators and one forensic investigator have been assigned to the case, the SIU said.