OPP officer dead, two others injured in ‘ambush’ shooting east of Ottawa: police
An Ontario Provincial Officer has died and two different veteran officers are injured, one critically, after a taking pictures east of Ottawa, in what police describe as an “ambush.”
Sgt. Eric Mueller, 42, and two different officers responded to a disturbance name at a house on Laval Street within the village of Bourget, round 50 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa, shortly after 2 a.m. on Thursday after a citizen reported listening to a gunshot.
Police mentioned the three officers arrived on the scene inside minutes of one another and have been shot at by somebody inside the house.
The officers have been taken to hospital in Ottawa, however one of many officers was later pronounced lifeless.
“Based on the information that I have, when three officers arrive on scene and within minutes are shot, one is killed, another is very seriously and critically injured, and another injured to the point of requiring medical attention for simply arriving on scene, I categorize that as an ambush,” OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique mentioned in an replace on Thursday afternoon.
Carrique mentioned a 49-year-old officer with 19 years of service, stays in hospital in essential however secure situation. A 35-year-old officer with 10 years of expertise has been handled and is recovering at dwelling.
Police mentioned a 39-year-old man, who lived on the dwelling, was arrested with out additional incident by a second group of responding officers.
Court paperwork present that Alain Bellefeuille has been charged with first-degree homicide and two counts of tried homicide.
Carrique mentioned an extended gun was discovered on the scene, however police are nonetheless investigating what firearm was concerned within the taking pictures.
He additionally mentioned nobody else seemed to be inside the house throughout the taking pictures. No different accidents have been reported.
— Thomas Carrique (@OPPCommissioner) May 11, 2023
Carrique mentioned Sgt. Mueller, who began on the OPP 21 years in the past, was an exemplary officer and a household man. He was promoted to sergeant in 2018.
“He’s described by colleagues as a coach and mentor — someone everyone looked up to, the glue that held his shift together, the best leader anyone had the privilege of working for.”
Carrique mentioned Sgt. Mueller was significantly injured in an incident in 2008 however didn’t present additional particulars.
Dan Brown, who lives about six kilometres from the scene, mentioned he was awake round 2 a.m. when he heard the sound of police sirens and a collection of low pops. A member on the close by firing vary, Brown mentioned he instantly acknowledged the sound as gun fireplace.
“I knew right away what was going on,” he mentioned. “It was like somebody’s getting shot or was shooting.”
Ashley Butler mentioned she woke as much as the sound of screeching automotive tires adopted by gun pictures. Butler, who lives round 100 metres down the highway, mentioned she ran to her daughter’s room to ensure she was secure.
“I was terrified,” she mentioned. “But the first thing that goes through a parent’s head is, you know, is my kid OK.”
It was solely in a while Thursday morning that she realized what had occurred.
“It rocked me a little bit,” she mentioned. “It kind of shook me to know that happened so close to home.”
Jaclyn Young additionally mentioned the taking pictures had additionally positioned her household on edge.
“It’s nerve-racking,” she mentioned. “An officer lost his life in our town due to protecting our community.”
Premier Ford, Trudeau react to OPP officer’s demise
In a press release, Premier Doug Ford mentioned his ideas are with the household of Mueller, who he mentioned was “senselessly killed in the line of duty.”
“Please join me in praying for his fellow officers … May God bless our heroes in uniform,” Ford mentioned in a tweet.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed these sentiments and expressed his “deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues” of Sgt. Mueller, including that his ideas are additionally with the 2 injured officers.
OPP union leaders from throughout the province have been gathered in Collingwood, Ont., for an unrelated assembly once they received phrase of the taking pictures, mentioned OPP Association spokesman Scott Mills.
“This is devastating,” Mills instructed the Canadian Press. “There’s a lot of heavy hearts here. When is this going to stop?”
It’s the most recent deadly taking pictures to shake a police power in Ontario since final 12 months.
In September of 2022, Toronto police Const. Andrew Hong was shot in what police described as an ambush at a Tim Hortons in Mississauga, Ont.
Then in October, Const. Devon Northrup and Const. Morgan Russell of the South Simcoe Police Service have been killed whereas responding to a disturbance name at a house in Innisfil, Ont.
OPP Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala was shot and killed after stopping to examine on a car that was caught in a ditch in Hagersville, Ont., in December 2022.
With recordsdata from Kaitlin Lee and John Marchesan of CityNews; and The Canadian Press
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