This week, the man on trial for killing a police officer and hurting two others during a wellness check in Bourget, Ont. will have his side of the story questioned about how he thought the scene of the shooting was safe when, in fact, the shooter was still there.
Alain Bellefeuille killed OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller and hurt constables Marc Lauzon and François Gamache-Asselin before dawn on May 11, 2023. This is not in question.
It’s not clear if he knew he was shooting at cops or if he thought he was protecting himself when he shot them several times.
Bellefeuille is being tried in L’Orignal Superior Court for first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty. After the Crown’s case is over, he is likely to appear in his own defense.
Christian Larochelle, one of the first four paramedics to arrive at Bellefeuille’s house that night along with Stéphane Huppé, Yan Bellefeuille, and Jean-François Fillion, stated on Friday that he thought the scene was safe when he walked up to the house.
Larochelle instead found Bellefeuille alone on the deck, his arms raised. On the floor of the hallway, Mueller was bleeding badly, and Bellefeuille had put her loaded long gun across his chest. Gamache-Asselin was hiding in the woods because he thought someone was trying to follow him and kill him, the trial heard earlier. Lauzon was on his knees on the yard.
Larochelle asked Lauzon if the scene was safe, but he didn’t answer. He had open eyes, but his arm was cut open. Larochelle then went up to the deck.