The suspected gunman in a shooting spree that killed three RCMP officers and injured two others appeared to be âon a mission,â says a Moncton resident who spotted the âheavily armedâ man walking down the road Wednesday night.
In an interview with Âéśš´ŤĂ˝, Virginia Boudreau said Thursday she was at her neighbourâs house when she heard that a man outside possibly had a weapon.
Boudreau said she âflew to the window,â only to see the suspect who has become the subject of a massive police manhunt in the New Brunswick city.
At first, Boudreau said she didnât take it very seriously. âWe kinda thought it was just some young kid doing something really stupid, trying to get a rise out of people.â
It was the look on his face that prompted her to call 911.
âHe had this really dead look in his face, he was walking in a straight line, looking in a straight line,â Boudreau recalled. âIf anybody said anything to him, he donât look even look at them, he didnât blink, nothing.
âHe was on a mission, you could tell,â said Boudreau, who added she could distinctly see a crossbow âacross his right shoulderâ and bullets around his waist.
Still in disbelief, Boudreau said it became clear that the gunman wasnât looking to harm civilians. She said he heard her on the phone with RCMP as she stood at the end of the driveway.
âHe could have turned around at any point and shot me or shot my neighbour who was also on the phone,â Boudreau said.
Within minutes of another call placed by her neighbour, Boudreau said an RCMP officer arrived on scene.
â(The suspect) wasnât even at the end of the road before the police officer was already in here,â Boudreau said.
She said she pointed out the suspect at the end of the road and warned the officer that he was heavily armed.
The officer left, but Boudreau said she and her neighbours still didnât â grasp the exact magnitude of the situationâ until they heard shots ring out a few minutes later.
Boudreau said she later learned that the officer had been shot to death.
âItâs kinda sad that we sent him down there alone, without anybody to back him up.â
Boudreau said sheâll ânever get (the officerâs) face out of my mind.â
âHe just had such a friendly face,â she said of the officer. âItâs really a shame that anything like this had to happen to anybody.â
Boudreau said Thursday she has been âshaken upâ by the incident, and hasnât been able to sleep or eat. She said she feels bad for everyone involved in the tragedy.
âItâs a sad moment for Moncton right now.â