RCMP officers killed in Moncton shooting named after alleged gunman captured

David Ross, Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Douglas James Larche named as RCMP killed

A heavily armed man that police have identified as Justin Bourque walks on Hildegard Drive in Moncton, New Brunswick June 4, 2014 after several shots were fired in the area. Three police officers were shot dead and two more were wounded, police said, as they conducted a manhunt for a man carrying a rifle and wearing camouflage clothes. Police said they were searching for Justin Bourque, 24, of Moncton. Picture taken June 4, 2014.

MONCTON, N.B. — Life in Moncton was returning to normal Friday after the city was locked down during a manhunt for a suspect after three Mounties were killed and two wounded.

But the mourning has only begun.

The intense police search lasted more than 30 hours before 24-year-old Justin Bourque gave himself up just after midnight Friday.

"We will work hard to recover what was wrongly taken from us," Mayor George LeBlanc told a news conference Friday morning.

Dozens of flower bouquets and messages piled up in a memorial on the steps of the Codiac RCMP detachment in Moncton.

Shortly after a 30-hour manhunt for alleged gunman Justin Bourque ended, New Brunswick RCMP named the three Mounties who were killed in the line of duty in Moncton.

Assistant Commissioner Roger Brown, the Mounties’ commanding officer in N.B., said the officers that died were: Const. David Joseph Ross, 32, originally of Victoriaville, Que.; Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, 45, originally of Boulogne-Billancourt in France; and Const. Douglas James Larche, 40, of Saint John, N.B.

“I can’t dig deep enough to explain the sadness that we all feel,” Brown said at a news conference Friday morning. “This is a trying time for our members as we have lost three of our own and two more are hospitalized. I commend our members for their dedication and professionalism as they were able to stay focused on the task at hand and getting results throughout this ordeal bringing the situation to a quick end. The work of our members was professional and effective. They deserve my utmost respect.”

The injured officers were named as Const. Darlene Goguen and Const. Eric Dubois. One of them has since been released from hospital.

Constable Ross, a police dog services handler with the Codiac RCMP, was married and had a young son. He and his wife, Rachael, were expecting their second child in September.

The couple married four years ago.

Bourque was captured — unarmed — at about 12:10 a.m. Friday morning in a Moncton’s resident’s backyard. Police say the weapons were still within their search grid.

Michelle Thibodeau witnessed the arrest and said there was a five-minute standoff.

“They started yelling, ‘Come out with your hands up!’ and they had their guns loaded,” Thibodeau, 21, said.

“About five minutes later, Justin surrendered himself and he said, ‘I’m done,’ and then they arrested him and brought him to my frontyard where they had him sprawled on the ground.”

Supt. Marline Snowman, the head of the Codiac RCMP, said the outcome was the best should could have hoped for under the circumstances.

“We wanted to have the arrest done as soon as possible without any further injury or death to anyone,” she said Friday. “I’m extremely proud of all the officers and the public that assisted us.”

The name of the fallen oficers are:

• Const. David Ross, 32.
• Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, 45.
• Const. Douglas James Larche, 40.

Brown said police will release details about funeral arrangements in the coming days.

RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson said in a statement released on Friday: "Their deaths are beyond comprehension. Their ultimate sacrifices will never be forgotten."

The two injured officers are:

• Const. Darlene Goguen.
• Const. Eric Dubois.

Goguen and Dubois are recovering from their injuries sustained in the shooting. Paulson said, "The injured members and their families will also continue to need our support."

Witness describes Bourque's arrest

Moncton resident Michelle Thibodeau told  media that Bourque was arrested in her backyard in the northwest part of the city where the shooting occurred and which had been on lockdown while the manhunt for the suspect was underway.

Thibodeau said she saw police officers head into a patch of trees in her yard and heard five minutes of screaming. 

“Justin came out with his hands up, and he said, 'I'm done,'" she told CBC News. 

She said he was wearing the same clothes he had been seen in Wednesday and was dripping wet, likely from the rain that was falling in Moncton at the time.