Everything We Know About the Fredericton Man Accused of Killing Four
On Friday morning, a man shooting a long gun out of the window of a Fredericton, New Brunswick, apartment building took four lives.
Much is still unknown about the motive behind the killings but here’s what we know so far.
Police have charged Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48, with four counts of first-degree murder. Police say that the shooting started Friday morning at around 7:00 AM and Raymond was taken into custody by police at around 9:30. At the end of the shooting Bobbie Lee Wright, 32, Donald Robichaud, 42, Constable Sara Burns, 43, and Constable Lawrence Costello, 45, were all killed and Raymond suffered a gunshot wound to the torso.
A witness told The Canadian Press that he heard a gunshot and then a woman screaming at around seven in the morning that day. Burns and Costello were the first officers to respond to the initial shooting call. According to the CBC, the two arrived and started to check out the scene. The two were followed by a Sgt. Jason Forward who spoke to some witnesses while Burns and Costello went out to a driveway where they found Wright shot in the car. Shots rang out again and when Forward went to the driveway he found his co-workers on the ground not moving. Forward saw another body, Robichaud, on the ground near the two officers. All three bodies were surrounding a car which held the body of Wright.
Forward and other officers discovered that the shooter was firing from the window of the third floor of a nearby apartment building. They were able to arrest Raymond who was shot in the torso after he allegedly pointed his weapon at an officer. No one other than Raymond were injured during the arrest, he was charged the following day while recovering in hospital.
While Robichaud and Raymond lived in the same apartment complex, but not building, no connection between the two has been found. Raymond moved into the apartment complex four months ago. The motive behind Raymond’s alleged crimes are still unknown but tidbits of information about the man is slowly trickling out.
According to the Canadian Press, a man who served Raymond coffee almost every day for the last eight years said that he was “ignorant and misinformed.” Brendan Doyle, who formerly ran Read’s Newsstand & Cafe, told the Canadian Press that he had to ask Raymond to no longer come into his establishment after he allegedly spouted off Islamophobic viewpoints and said how he hated Syrian refugees to other customers.
“His discussions with fellow customers and staff turned more political around the same time we had an influx of Syrian refugees into the city,” Doyle said. “I saw him one weekend in front of city hall with a sandwich board sign that said ‘No Sharia,’ and other anti-Islamic sentiments.”
Raymond was described as a lonely man who would “talk your ear off” if given the opportunity. The 48-year-old was apparently an avid cyclist and gamer. It is unknown what weapon he used was and if there is any connection between the victims and Raymond. Police have said they do not believe the motive behind the shootings were to target police.
Raymond will appear in court for the first time on August 27.
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