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Man charged with 1st-degree murder in Coquitlam, B.C., shooting of RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien

B.C.'s prosecution service has approved two criminal charges against 25-year-old Coquitlam resident Nicholas Bellemare, 25, who is scheduled to appear in court Oct. 3.

B.C. Prosecution Service approves 2 charges against 25-year-old Coquitlam resident Nicholas Bellemare

CBC News ·
A photos, framed by a navy blue border, is pictured on a while table surrounded by bouquets and unlit candles. The photo shows a man pictured in a black police uniform, taking groceries out of a car's trunk.
Bouqets of flowers and a photo of RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien are pictured on a growing makeshift memorial outside the Ridge Meadows RCMP detachment in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Saturday. (Yasmin Gandham/CBC)

B.C.'s prosecution service has approved two criminal charges against 25-year-old man Nicholas Bellemare in the slaying of an RCMP officer on Friday.

Bellemare faces a first-degree murder charge, as well as a second count of attempted murder with a firearm.

Ridge Meadows RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien was shot dead while executing a search warrant on Friday around 10 a.m. in Coquitlam, B.C., a city of 150,000 about 25 kilometres east of Vancouver.

In a statement Saturday afternoon, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) revealed O'Brien and two other officers were at the time executing a warrant "in relation to a drug investigation" originating in Maple Ridge, B.C.

A search of B.C. online court records did not show any previous charges against the suspect, who is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 3 in Port Coquitlam. Until then, he will remain in custody.

O'Brien, 51, was a decorated constable, who recently celebrated seven years of service, having become a Mountie in 2016. He leaves behind a wife and six children.

Police officer stands in front of an area cordoned off by police tape, following a shooting, with other first responders standing near an ambulance.
An ambulance is seen on Glen Drive after a shooting involving two RCMP officers in Coquitlam B.C. on Friday, September 22, 2023. At least two RCMP officers have been injured in what is being described as a critical incident in the Metro Vancouver city of Coquitlam. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press)

With files from David P. Ball

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