CAUTION: This tale has visuals information of a terrible occasion.
A paramedic’s account of getting to a deadly capturing that he presumed was secure when actually the shooter continued to be on scene will certainly be cross-examined today in the test of a male that eliminated a policeman and injured 2 others throughout a health check in Bourget, Ont.
It’s not in disagreement that Alain Bellefeuille eliminated OPPSgt Eric Mueller and injured constables Marc Lauzon and Fran çois Gamache-Asselin prior to dawn on May 11, 2023.
In inquiry is whether he recognized he was contending cops and whether he was acting in self-defence when he repetitively opened up fire on them.
Bellefeuille gets on test in Superior Court in L’Orignal for first-degree murder and 2 matters of tried murder, and has actually begged innocent. He’s anticipated to affirm in his very own support after the Crown shuts its instance.
Mueller parked outdoors Bellefeuille’s home, prior to he goes out to speak toLauzon (Ontario Superior Court of Justice/ OPP)
One of the initial 4 paramedics to get to Bellefeuille’s home –Christian Larochelle, that was gone along with that evening by St éphane Hupp é, Yan Bellefeuille and Jean-Fran çois Fillion — affirmed on Friday concerning stalking your house, believing the scene had actually been ensured.
Instead, Larochelle discovered Bellefeuille standing on the deck with his arms up. Mueller was hemorrhaging out in the mudroom with Bellefeuille’s crammed lengthy weapon positioned throughout his breast. Lauzon got on his knees on the yard, and Gamache-Asselin was concealing in the timbers, thinking someone was trying to follow and kill him, the test previously listened to.
Lauzon really did not address Larochelle’s concerns concerning whether the scene was secure. His eyes were open however his arm was torn open. Larochelle after that came close to the deck.
‘He got into my home’
More video clip from Mueller’s body-worn camera was played in court. It was covered by something, however Bellefeuille is listened to claiming, “A police officer is down. A police officer’s down right here. He’s breathing. A police officer is down right here inside, come in, come in. He’s inside the house, he’s breathing still. He’s still breathing.”
“Are you alone here?” Larochelle asks Bellefeuille.
“I am alone.”
“Is there another officer?”
“He broke into my house. He came in, that’s it. He’s still breathing,” Bellefeuille claims.
“Don’t move, don’t move. Is there anyone else in the house? I want you to step back, please. Please step back.”
Larochelle affirmed that Mueller had actually shed a serious quantity of blood, which he recognized the overview for him had not been great. He additionally recognized he and the various other paramedics weren’t secure, however “at that point, it was too late.”
They filled Mueller right into a rescue, and as Larochelle will begin driving, his companion screamed that Mueller’s heart had actually quit. They began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and proceeded with it for the 40-minute drive to The Ottawa Hospital’s Civic school injury centre. But not long after they got here, Mueller was noticable dead.
Still extra video clip from Mueller’s video camera revealed it being tossed onto the yard.
A court room illustration of Alain Bellefeuille made use of March 26, 2025. (Lauren Foster- MacLeod)
Trial returned to recently after time out
The test returned to April 22 after being adjourned for a week.
Last week, OPPConst Justin Boyd affirmed concerning heading to Bellefeuille’s home in Bourget after listening to over the radio that shots had actually been terminated at police officers, and concerning the function he played in looking the location and moving Bellefeuille to an OPP detachment and Ottawa’s Montfort Hospital
When Boyd got here, it was uncertain where Lauzon and Gamache-Asselin were.
Mueller remained in the treatment of paramedics, and unidentified to Boyd and various other police officers at the scene, so was Lauzon.
Confused, ‘disorderly’ scene
As Boyd and others began to speak about exactly how to locate them, the circumstance ended up being “pretty chaotic,” Boyd affirmed. The police officers ultimately aligned side by side and pressed right into the timbers to look prior to making a decision the surface was as well hard for an injured individual to conceal in.
As they returned out, Boyd discovered Mueller’s body-worn video camera hing on the lawn, still videotaping.
A video from the video camera was played in court of Boyd discovering it, in which a gunfire is additionally listened to.
Const Ionut Mihuta– that had actually detained Bellefeuille– is listened to asking, “You fired your gun?”
“Misfire! Misfire, misfire,” claims Boyd, promoting his associateConst Pierre Dubois, that had actually inadvertently terminated his lengthy weapon right into the ground when visible of Boyd.
“Check that way,” Mihuta claims. “Go in a straight line! Shooter ready, OK? Safety off. Watch your shooting, OK? Watch your fingers,” Mihuta claims prior to the clip finishes.
This bird’s-eye view of Bellefeuille’s home, revealing 4 OPP cars parked out front after the deadly capturing, was submitted as an exhibition throughout the test. (Ontario Superior Court of Justice/ OPP)
Bellefeuille repetitively punched by apprehending policeman
More police officers swamped the scene, and Lauzon and Gamache-Asselin were discovered, Boyd claimed. He was after that asked to assist take Bellefeuille to the Rockland OPP detachment.
In a cell, paramedics examined Bellefeuille for injuries and took a long period of time checking out a contusion on his head. Court listened to on April 14 that Mihuta had actually broken cops procedure by repetitively punching Bellefeuille while Bellefeuille was existing on the ground being detained and claiming he really did not recognize he had actually fired a police officer.
Audio of the significant exchange was recorded on Mihuta’s body-worn video camera.
Mihuta shrieked at Bellefeuille: “I got this shotgun at your f–king head! Just f–king do something so I can f–king shoot you, you piece of s–t!”
Asked concerning boxing Bellefeuille in interrogation, Mihuta affirmed that his feelings obtained the most effective of him, which he really did not suggest his hazard to fire Bellefeuille.
“I knew that Sergeant Mueller may not live. I knew at that point that within the next couple hours, a wife will get the worst news of her life, that her husband is not coming back home. Two kids will be orphans without a dad,” he affirmed.
“We don’t shoot people in our jobs. We do not. It’s not, I wouldn’t shoot anyone that is unarmed or something like that.”
Emotional experience to health center
Paramedics ultimately determined to take Bellefeuille to health center for assessment and therapy.
During interrogation of Boyd, support attorney Leonardo Russomanno played video clip footage from Boyd’s body-worn video camera illustrating concerning 20 mins of the rescue experience toMontfort Hospital It programs Bellefeuille from behind as he’s staying up stooped ahead on a cart in only his undergarments (his apparel had actually been gotten rid of by paramedics), with his hands cuffed behind his back. A paramedic attempts asking concerns, however no discernable feedbacks are listened to.
Bellefeuille shows up to sob a number of times, his shoulders appearing and down, and sometimes the paramedic positions a hand on his shoulder.
Justice Robert Pelletier advised the court to just take into consideration Bellefeuille’s physical and emotion in the video clip, which might end up being appropriate in Pelletier’s last directions for the court prior to considerations.
The Crown’s following witness was OPP forensic recognition policeman Brittany Falls, that aided record and brochure the scene and the proof discovered. On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the court was revealed pictures of the mudroom with the blood-soaked flooring where Mueller was discovered.
Also revealed was Bellefeuille’s bed room wall surface with 9 bullet openings in it (he terminated at Mueller and Lauzon from inside the bed room), a box of ammo in his storage room, his living-room home window with bullet openings in it, 2 OPP cruisers outside with bullet openings in them, invested cases from Bellefeuille’s lengthy weapon inside and outside your house, and 3 invested cases from an OPP pistol in your house.
Lauzon’s sidearm was discovered to be missing out on 3 rounds, Falls affirmed.
The test proceeds Tuesday with interrogation of the paramedic that affirmed Friday.
