Close X
Sunday, November 24, 2024
ADVT 
National

Raymond said killings 'not my fault': witness

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Sep, 2020 08:32 PM
  • Raymond said killings 'not my fault': witness

The accused Fredericton mass shooter said the deaths of four people in 2018 were not his fault, according to a paramedic student who accompanied the alleged killer to the hospital on the morning of the shootings.

Ceilidh Bowen, who is now a medical technician with the Canadian Armed Forces, told jurors Wednesday accused killer Matthew Raymond was loaded into an ambulance on Aug. 10, 2018, and appeared to have three broken ribs and three gunshot wounds in his abdomen.

Bowen said she heard Raymond mutter that people had been outside his window. "'They were taunting me. It's not my fault, they made me do it,' he said," she told Raymond's first-degree murder trial.

Raymond faces four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Fredericton Police constables Robb Costello and Sara Burns as well as civilians Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright.

On Sept. 15 when the trial opened, lawyers for Raymond acknowledged their client shot and killed the four people but said he is not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder.

Bowen told jurors that she didn't hear the accused killer say anything else during the 10-minute ride to the hospital. She said Raymond didn't appear to be in a lot of pain.

Police had shot the suspect through a window into his apartment.

Another witness, RCMP Const. Stephane Sabourin, introduced to jurors items that were seized from Raymond's apartment following his arrest.

The items included notepads and other pieces of paper covered in numbers. One note said, "Thanks Lord for your equal 87."

Other notes were inscribed with comments about things being moved around his apartment. "Someone or some persons were in my apartment with no notice," one note read.

The jury also heard from Brendan Doyle, who had owned a coffee shop in downtown Fredericton that Raymond frequented in 2017. He said Raymond would often come in for coffee, look at magazines about bikes or video games, and would chat with staff.

Doyle said as time passed, however, Raymond looked at fewer bike magazines and instead took a greater interest in magazines about violent video games and about firearms.

In June 2017, Doyle said he saw Raymond in front of city hall, wearing a sandwich board that read, "No Sharia Law" — which is also know as Islamic law. Doyle said Syrian refugees had been arriving into Canada during that period.

He said when he approached Raymond, the accused suggested he watch a number of online videos. Doyle said he was concerned Raymond would express his views to other patrons of his coffee shop so he suggested Raymond go somewhere else — which he said Raymond did.

MORE National ARTICLES

WE Charity shuttering Canadian operations

WE Charity shuttering Canadian operations
Craig and Marc Kielburger, who are also planning to step down from the organization they co-founded, were set to release an open letter explaining the move.

WE Charity shuttering Canadian operations

B.C. boosts flu shots in fall pandemic plan

B.C. boosts flu shots in fall pandemic plan
They said some of the preparations include being able to conduct up to 20,000 daily COVID-19 tests, hiring more than 600 additional contact tracers and purchasing more than 1.9 million doses of flu vaccine.

B.C. boosts flu shots in fall pandemic plan

Take a new look at Tories, O'Toole asks

Take a new look at Tories, O'Toole asks
In recent weeks, statues of Canada's first prime minister have been toppled or defaced in protests against systemic racism and Canada's colonial history.

Take a new look at Tories, O'Toole asks

Some B.C. students wary as classes draw near

Some B.C. students wary as classes draw near
Education Minister Rob Fleming has said districts are expecting 85 to 90 per cent of students to attend school in person, but some parents and students say they're frustrated by the lack of remote learning options, large class sizes and inconsistent messaging about physical distancing.

Some B.C. students wary as classes draw near

B.C. First Nation declares COVID-19 emergency

B.C. First Nation declares COVID-19 emergency
A notice on the Tla'amin Nation website says residents have been ordered to shelter in place to slow the spread of the virus while health officials complete contact tracing.

B.C. First Nation declares COVID-19 emergency

Nightclubs closed in B.C. after COVID spike

Nightclubs closed in B.C. after COVID spike
Henry says her revised health orders also include a 10 p.m. cut-off for alcohol sales at bars and restaurants, and they must close by 11 p.m. unless they are serving food.

Nightclubs closed in B.C. after COVID spike