According to the OPP, Alain Bellefeuille is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
The suspect appeared briefly in Ontario court virtually late Thursday afternoon. Given the choice, he asked to speak English.
Mr Bellefeuille seemed disoriented at times. He also apologized to the judge for his fatigue. “I’m sorry, I’m just tired,” he said in English.
The judge then ordered the virtual appearance to be suspended so that Mr Bellefeuille could speak to a legal aid lawyer in another room. No objection was submitted.
Alain Bellefeuille is expected to return to court in a week, on Thursday 18 May. Until then, he remains incarcerated.
The three charges against the suspect follow the shooting that took place just after 2am Thursday on Laval Street in Bourget, eastern Ontario.
The village of Bourget is in the Clarence-Rockland parish of eastern Ontario.
Photo: Radio Canada
According to the OPP Russell Detachment, three officers were on the scene in response to a domestic violence call. One person told them they heard gunshots.
During their intervention, the three police officers were shot dead by a man from his home, the OPP said. They were transported to the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus.
Two people were taken to Ottawa Hospital’s Civic Campus in an ambulance.
Photo: SB
One of them, Sergeant Eric Mueller, 42, eventually died from his injuries. He had worked for the OPP for 21 years.
At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, he was described as a model cop rising one by one.
He was a mentor, a coach everyone looked up to. Our heart is broken. “We are close to his family,” said OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique.
Eric Mueller is the ninth police officer to die in Canada since September.
Photo: Taken from Twitter/@OPPCommissioner
The two other injured police officers are 35 and 43 years old. The OPP did not disclose their names.
One of the two has been discharged from hospital, the OPP said, while the other remains hospitalized. His condition is described as serious, stable but critical, police said.
The OPP also pointed out in a press conference that the suspect, without naming him, was not a person with whom it had been dealing for several years.
The police fraternity could be seen in Bourget on Thursday morning.
Photo: Radio Canada
Sergeant Mueller is the fifth police officer killed in Ontario and the ninth in Canada since last September.
Former Sergeant of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) Stéphane Wall, who regularly comments on the news when police officers are injured or killed, explains that in recent months, unfortunately [neuf] The police were apparently killed by people who appeared to be waiting for them.
It’s extremely fast. An armed person waiting for the police always has an advantage over them, he said.
The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) tweeted video of the police convoy traveling on Highway 417 leading the body of Sergeant Mueller to the coroner’s office.
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A community in shock
There have been many reactions since news of Sergeant Mueller’s death.
The Mayor of Clarence-Rockland, Mario Zanth, was very emotional on Thursday at the microphone of the program Les matins d’ici.
“Our community is in shock. We immediately told the authorities: everything you need, you have it. anything. We are working with the authorities to give them the support they need. »
– A quote from Mario Zanth, Mayor of Clarence-Rockland
The mayor also mentioned that citizens can dial 211 for mental health resources.
The MNA for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Stéphane Sarrazin, also said he was in shock in an interview on Les matins d’ici.
We believe things like this happen in big cities, but it’s surprising to see it in our small communities. Our thoughts are with the families of the three officers. We will be there for you.
The event took place just after 2am on Thursday morning, not far from the village center on Laval Street.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jean Delisle
Trudeau promises action
On the sidelines of his meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu before noon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated his deep condolences, which he had already expressed earlier in the morning, and his sympathy for the Bourget family of Sergeant Eric Mueller.
We must do more to protect them. “I’m working with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Public Safety to find ways to increase protection for those who protect us,” Mr Trudeau said.
On Twitter, the leader of the official opposition, Pierre Poilievre, stressed that most of us will never know the risk that the police take every day when they say goodbye to their families and go to work. We must never take their sacrifice for granted.
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The death of OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller, who was senselessly killed in the line of duty, is devastating news. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Please join me in praying for his colleagues as we await news of their condition. May God bless our heroes in uniform. https://t.co/WxoMPB69u7
— Doug Ford (@fordnation) May 11, 2023
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Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed his condolences on Twitter to Sergeant Mueller’s colleagues and his family.
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We offer our heartfelt condolences to Sergeant Mueller’s families and colleagues@OPP_ER, who died in service under tragic circumstances. Our thoughts are also with the two injured officers.
— Montreal Police Department (@SPVM) May 11, 2023
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Across the country, many police forces have also sent messages of support to the OPP.
The Service de Police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) has announced that it will lower its flag in front of its headquarters in honor of the three police officers.
With information from Claudine Richard, Benjamin Vachet, La Presse canadienne and Guy Quenneville,