Suspect charged in shooting of OPP officer

May 12, 2023 | Canadian News, News

An OPP has been killed and two others are in hospital after responding to a call in Bourget, Ont., near Ottawa, early Thursday morning.

Commissioner Thomas Carrique confirmed that Sgt. Eric Mueller was killed in the line of duty, in an incident he described as an ambush.

Mueller was a veteran of the police force, who had been promoted to the rank of sergeant in 2006.

“He is described by his colleagues as a coach and mentor,” Carrique said. “Somebody that everybody looked up to, the glue that held the ship together.”

While police have not released the names of the two other officers involved, both were taken to hospital and are expected to recover.

One of the wounded officers was 43-years-old with 19 years of service and the other was 35-years-old with 10 years of service. Carrique said both are highly regarded by their colleagues and community.

OPP’s East Region confirmed on Twitter that a suspect named Alain Bellefueille, 39, was taken into custody after the shooting and has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Carrique later said that he was uninjured at the time of the arrest.

The three officers were responding to reports of a gunshot around 2 a.m. After arriving at the scene, all three officers were shot by Bellefueille from inside the home. It is unknown if they had entered the home yet.

Carrique also said in his statement that a long gun was recovered at the scene, but police are unable to say if it was the firearm used in the shooting.

Since the death, police services across the country have been expressing their condolences.

York Regional Police said in a statement to Humber News, “our condolences to the family members and to the colleagues and everyone in that area in the community. It’s certainly heartbreaking.”

Premier Doug Ford also expressed his concern for those affected over Twitter.

“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,” he said.

This shooting is just the latest in a string of shootings against police officers over the past year.

Over the weekend, Ontario added five new names to it’s police memorial at Queen’s Park in Toronto. This commemorated officers Andrew Hong, Devon Northrup, Morgan Russell, and Grzegorz Pierzchala, all of whom were killed in the line of duty in 2022.

Durham Regional Police Const. Vicki Lynn Wilson, who died in 1992, was also added to the monument.

In total, 10 police officers have been killed in Canada since Sept. 2022.

This is a massive increase from previous years. From 1961 to 2009, there were a total of 44 police deaths, a rate of less than one per year, according to Statistics Canada.

Survivors of Law Enforcement, a group of grieving family members who’s loved ones were killed in the line of duty, expressed their condolences for this tragedy, but also their desire for change to stop this tragic trend.

“Through our pain we see purpose. In almost every case, these deaths were preventable,” said the group’s spokesperson Jason Tomlinson. “They were preventable through common sense legislation. Legislative changes and more recently enacted laws have made the community less safe for the people and police officers the like.

“We, the members of SOLE, call upon all levels of government to act in the interest of public safety,” Tomlinson said. “And to do it now. We care not to look into the eyes of another victim of preventable, senseless death.”

Currently with five police deaths already, 2023 is on pace to become the deadliest year for Canadian police officers in the history of the country.