Moncton shootings: Regimental funeral planned for slain RCMP officers

A regimental funeral will be held Tuesday forthree RCMP officers who were gunned down this week in aMoncton, N.B., shooting.

The June 10 funeral will take place at 1 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum and will feature a parade of RCMP employees and law enforcement agencies. A private interment will follow the funeral.

Moncton residents were already outin force Saturday to share their grief and support for the RCMP, with theCodiac Regional RCMP headquarters acting asa focal point.

People have been dropping off flowers, teddy bears and other items, includingahand-written note by a child thanking RCMP for stopping "the bad guy."

Traffic has been bumper-to-bumper as people drive by the building on Main Street to take a look.

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Brendan Bird is proud to see such a turnout. He lives in the area that was underlockdownduring the 30-hour manhunt.

"I think it's good and it shows how strong our community is and how supporting we are to our RCMP and thankful," he said.

Ashley Price brought a bouquet of flowers. She remembers when the shooting started.

"I was home alone at the time and I heard the gunshots. I didn't know what it was at firstuntil I looked out the window and a cop motioned me to get away from the window and hide, so that's what I did," Price said.

Like so many people, Price still feels a sense of shock.

ThreeRCMP officers were shot and killed Wednesday night:

• Const. Dave Ross, 32.
• Const.FabriceGeorgesGevaudan, 45.
• Const. Douglas JamesLarche, 40.

Two other officers, Const. Darlene Goguen and Const. Eric Dubois, were injured.

One church is planning what it calls a "community debriefing" Saturday night.

We need each other.- Pastor Martin Kreplin

St. Andrews Presbyterian Church will have counsellors on hand to help people throughout the community cope with the shocking events of the last few days.

"We're all having problem processing this,"said church pastor Martin Kreplin."We need each other."

Looking for clues

While people gathered to remember the fallen officers, RCMP searched for clues in the area where the suspect Justin Bourque was captured overnight Friday.

A few dozen Mounties were in thefield and wooded area onSaturday.

It's anothersign that the ordeal for the Mounties and the community is far from over.

The ordeal began Wednesday night after 7 p.m. ATwhen shots were fired on a residential street.

A large section of Moncton was locked down as police searched for the shooter. Horrified residents hunkered down and daily routines were abruptly put on hold.

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Fear gripped the city. Hours turned into days as the manhunt forBourquecontinued. About 350police officers, including many from around Canada, were involved.

Police arrested Bourqueat 12:10 a.m. AT Friday. RCMP said he wasn't carrying any weapons, though some were found in the area where he was arrested.

Police were tipped off when someone called to report a suspiciousman in a wooded area.

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Bourque, 24, appeared in court in Moncton on Friday afternoon. He was charged withthree counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Neither the Crown nor the court-assigned defence lawyer requested a psychiatric evaluation at this time.

Bourqueremains in custody. He is due back in court on July 3.