By Canadian Press

Eyewitnesses to mass shooting take stand in Fredericton murder trial

Sep 24, 2020 | 11:20 AM

FREDERICTON — Norma Foster told a Fredericton courtroom Thursday that on the morning of Aug. 10, 2018, she woke up to gun shots.

The witness told jurors she called 911 and looked out her apartment window and saw two people checking the pulse of a man lying on the ground outside.

Foster, an eyewitness to the 2018 Fredericton mass shooting, took the stand Thursday in the murder trial of Matthew Raymond. The 50-year-old is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Donnie Robichaud, Bobbie Lee Wright and Fredericton police constables Robb Costello and Sara Burns.

She testified that a short time after she heard the shots, police arrived. Then, she said, she heard loud noises and saw Cst. Costello “fall down.”

An emotional Foster said she told the dispatcher two officers had been shot.

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Another eyewitness, Sarah Gould, sobbed as she testified how she woke to the sound of gunshots and looked out her sister’s window. She said she saw a window screen on the ground, and after looking upward, saw the barrel of a gun sticking out a window.

Gould said police officers arrived a few minutes later and that she heard more bangs. “They got shot,” she said, crying. “First the male went down, then the female.”

Asked where the officers were shot, Gould pointed to her chest, referring to the male officer’s wounds, and then pointed to her back to indicate where the female cop was shot.

Gould said she saw two people crouching by a car.

On Wednesday, jurors were told that the couple behind the car was Shawn Noble and Kendra Snodgrass.

Jurors were told the couple had seen a man laying on the ground and had gone outside to see if they could offer any assistance. They could find no pulse, and waited until police arrived. They ducked behind a car when the shooting resumed. 

Also on Thursday, Martin Vezina testified that his girlfriend had gotten him out of bed that August morning after she heard what sounded like fireworks outside their apartment.

He said he looked out his living room window and saw what appeared to be the barrel of a gun sticking out a window. He then heard a loud bang and the sound of smashing glass. Vezina said he hit the floor and quickly crawled to a bedroom and barricaded himself inside.

A picture introduced as evidence in court shows a bullet hole through the living room window of Vezina’s apartment.

Vezina said he heard at least 10 more shots. He said he remained in the apartment with his girlfriend and three children until police came and escorted them out.

The trial continues Thursday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2020.

Kevin Bissett, The Canadian Press