Normally, law enforcement officers being killed by gunfire is something that people hear of happening with some frequency in the USA. This phenomenon appears to be spreading to Canada. Despite having stricter gun laws, incidents of police officers being killed in the line of duty are occurring with greater frequency. The BBC reported that in Fredericton, New Brunswick, a small town of 56,000 inhabitants, a shooting took place and four people, including two police officers, were shot dead. NewBrunswick is usually a peaceful place and in the last 57 years since 1961, only five policemen have been killed in shootings in the province.
The shooting
The two police officers have been identified as 45-year-old Lawrence Robert Costello and 43-year-old Sara Mae Helen Burns. They were obviously not wearing bulletproof jackets and were responding to sounds of a shooting. This is reminiscent of five RCMP officers who were not wearing jackets and were shot dead in 2014 by a 24-year-old man called Justin Bourque. That incident led to an unprecedented manhunt until the suspect was nabbed after 28 hours. At that time the RCMP was charged with violating the labor code by sending unarmed and unprotected policemen into an operation.
Gunman in custody
The good news is that the gunman, like in the Florida Parkland shooting, was arrested and is in police custody.
The New York Times reported that he appears to be wounded but other details have not yet been released, other than he is a "48-year-old local man." The New York Times reported that at a press conference the Deputy Police, Chief Martin Gaudet, said that the officers were killed as they approached the victims. This shows a lack of professional approach and one hopes that in future this lapse will be attended to.
The Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. "My heart goes out to everyone affected by this morning's shooting. We're following the situation closely."
The Fredericton police have also expressed their condolences.
Our deepest condolences to the families of our fallen members 45-year-old Lawrence Robert Costello and 43-year-old Sara Mae Helen Burns and the other victims in this morning's shootings. pic.twitter.com/9TeWn5OqWx
— Fredericton Police (@CityFredPolice) August 10, 2018
Gun control debate wilts
Canada has been a relatively peaceful place and the gun laws are more stringent than in America.
But this has not helped and it appears guns are still available as the graph of such shootings like the one at the Youtube Headquarters in California is showing an upward trend. Following the Toronto shootings last month, Mayor John Tory wanted to ban handguns in the city. However, the premiere of Ontario said, “There’s a lot of legal, responsible handgun owners,” according to The Toronto Star.