Preliminary inquiry set for woman accused of shooting at first responders

A preliminary inquiry for a woman accused of firing an airsoft gun at first responders near the Moncton airport has been set forJune.

Morgan Maryanne Connors of Dartmouth, N.S.,faces 13 charges related to the shooting Jan. 5.

Connors brieflyappeared in court Thursday morning in Moncton. Defence lawyer Martin Goguensaid the hearing would last five days.

Connors sat in the prisoner's dock silent and expressionless as her lawyer and the Crown prosecutor discussed dates for the hearing.

The hearing meant to test the strength of the Crown's evidence in the casewill start June 10.

Connorselectedearlier to be tried in the Court of Queen's Bench by a judge and jury.

She faces charges that include pointing an airsoft gun at two people, pointing the airsoft gun at RCMP Const. Pierre-Alexandre Roy,possession ofbrass knuckles, shooting the airsoft gun at Cpl. Stephane Pare-Lemire during her arrest, uttering death threats,dangerous driving,and possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking.

In a news release, Codiac Regional RCMP saidemergency crews were called to a single-vehicle crashonAdlard-Savoie Boulevard around 2:25 p.m. on Jan. 5.

Police allege the driver of the vehicle fired at Dieppe firefighters and paramedics who arrived at the scene. A Mountie shot Connors, leaving her with unspecified injuries.

The 25-year-old has been in custody since she was released from hospital.

Separate investigation underway

New BrunswickRCMP requestedthe Nova Scotia Serious Incident Response Team conduct a review of police actions.

The independent agency investigatesmatters that involve death, serious injury, sexual assault and domestic violence or other issues of significant public interest that may have arisen from the actions of a police officer in Nova Scotia.

FelixCacchione,the director of the agency, said Thursday that the investigation is continuing and the team is waiting for several expert reports. It's not clear how long those reports could take to complete.