June 4, 7:30 p.m.: Codiac RCMP officers respond to a call about a man wearing camouflage and armed with two rifles in the woods near the Pinehurst subdivision in northwest Moncton.
Witnesses Danny Leblanc said he saw the gunman standing in the middle of the street, gun pointed at police cars. He thought the man was an RCMP officer until he fired.
8:12 p.m.: New Brunswick RCMP issues an alert for those in the Hildegard and Ryan Road area to stay inside and lock their doors.
Over the next hour, that area is expanded to Plaza Boulevard, Moncton Coliseum, Worthington Avenue, Preston Crescent and Elmhurst Drive.
8:30 p.m.: Local photographer Daniel St. Louis arrives at the scene of the shooting. He later told the Associated Press he saw two bloodied police vehicles on different streets and a third vehicle with the bullet holes through the windshield.
Further along, he found something he said will always haunt him.
“I walked over and I saw two feet, facing the street, toes up,” said St. Louis, 51. “I realized, ‘Oh my God. There’s somebody down.’”
The RCMP would later confirm that three officers were killed and two others wounded. Their identities have not been released.
A photo from the Canadian Press showed a blue sedan with its windows shattered by gunfire and pools of blood on the ground at the intersection of Mailhot Avenue and Isington Street.
9:17 p.m.: RCMP identify the suspect as 24-year-old Justin Bourque.
Suspect Justin Bourque is pictured in a photo tweeted by the RCMP on Wednesday June 4, 2014 in Moncton.
Posts on Bourque’s Facebook account show a penchant for firearms and disdain for police.
Overnight: With the suspect still on the loose, police establish a search perimeter. Those living inside the area are asked to stay inside, lock their doors and keep outdoor lights on to help in the hunt.
June 5, morning: Bourque is spotted by police within the search radius — one confirmed sighting and two others unconfirmed. Despite an overnight manhunt, Bourque has still not been apprehended.
Numerous closures are announced in Moncton for June 5, including English and French schools, public transportation, government buildings and the courthouse. Mail service is also suspended.
10:30 a.m.: RCMP officers and Moncton’s mayor George LeBlanc hold an emotional press conference.
RCMP superintendent Marlene Snowman said Bourque was not previously known to police and his family is being interviewed in hopes of finding out more about his motives and where he could be hiding.
“Please work with us as we go through this together. When you see an RCMP officer working, please thank them,” said RCMP Commanding officer Roger Brown.
N.B. RCMP Commanding officer Roger Brown wipes away tears as the Mayor of Moncton George LeBlanc (not shown) speaks during a news conference in Moncton on Thursday, June 5, 2014. At left, Codiac RCMP superintendent Marlene Snowman looks on.
12:30 p.m.: Officers surround a building in Moncton, weapons drawn and snipers positioned. Reporters on scene are not sharing photos or the location of the confrontation at the request of officers.
Emergency response officers check a residence in Moncton, N.B. on Thursday, June 5, 2014.
2:30 p.m.: Officers appear to have cleared the scene, police will be holding a press conference at 3:30 p.m. EST.
3:30 p.m.: In a press conference, Cpl. Chantal Farrah said the suspect is still at large. One of the wounded officers has been released from hospital, though all names are being kept confidential for now.
Residents in the Moncton north are reminded to stay inside and keep the movements of police officers off social media.
Police arrested a suspect in the Moncton shootings that left three Mounties dead, wounded two others and kept much of the city’s residents locked in their homes for more than 24 hours.
After a manhunt that stretched into a second night, police said a suspect was finally arrested.
Twitter user Michelle Thibodeau posted a first-hand account of the arrest, saying: “He was in my backyard. I saw him arrested in front of my eyes. He is alive.
‘Darkest day’
Police are calling Wednesday the "darkest day" in the RCMP's history in New Brunswick.
"This is working through your worst nightmare," New Brunswick RCMP Commanding Officer Roger Brown told a news conference Thursday morning.
Speaking of the families of the deceased officers, Brown said, "there's no way to describe the level of hurt."
CTV News has confirmed the identity of one of the three killed RCMP officers as Const. Dave Ross.
One of the two injured Mounties has been released from hospital, RCMP Cpl. Chantal Farrah told reporters Thursday afternoon, but the other remains under care.
Eyewitness accounts
Shortly after the shootings took place, photographer Daniel St. Louis arrived to the scene. Initially didn't think much of a stopped police vehicle he had come across, until he noticed the side windows had been blown out and there was blood at the scene.
St. Louis then came across a second police vehicle that had four bullet holes in the windshield before spotting one of the officers who had been shot.
"I chose to get a little closer, and that's when I saw that there was blood and a serious injury to the head," he said. "That was more than I needed to see, and it was time for me to leave."
Heidi James, meanwhile, said she was at home with her husband and young children when they first heard gunfire.
"I heard probably about four to five shots. They sounded quite loud," James said, describing how she scrambled to move her children away from the windows as worried friends and relatives began texting her to make sure they were safe.
She said her husband peeked out the window and saw a body, covered with a blanket, next to a "shot-out" vehicle.
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