Friends of Lac-Brome teen shot by police noticed change in behaviour

Friends of a 17-year-old shot dead by a Sûreté du Québec police officer in the town of Lac-Brome early Wednesday say the teen's mental health had been deteriorating in recent months.

The youth's ex-girlfriend, Camille Larouche said he was "really different" when she returned home from CEGEP, which she'd been attending elsewhere in the province.

"He felt bad, and he talked to me about it," Larouche said.

The teen's death is being investigated by Quebec's independent investigations bureau, the BEI, which is called in to investigate any incident involving police in which someone is hurt or killed or where police use their weapon.

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The BEI said police were called to an address on Highway 104 in a commercial part of Knowlton, around 1:20 a.m.

The 911 caller reported a young man was walking around armed with a gun.

The BEI later said that the weapon in question appeared to be a handgun, although it's not yet clear whether the gun was functional at the time of the incident.

A statement released by the BEI around 5 a.m. said police tried to intervene but the youth became "threatening," and police opened fire, killing the teen.

The BEI said it is not naming the youth, at least until the coroner's report is released.

CBC News has independently verified the teen's identity as Riley Fairholm.

Worrisome behaviour, unsettling Instagram post

Larouche said she thinks Fairholm might have deliberately set out to provoke police.

"I think the fact that he did that, it may have been because he wasn't able to do it himself," Larouche said. "So, he decided to provoke them so that he didn't have to do it himself. That's what I think happened."

Scoobie Davies, a friend of the teen, said Fairholm had put up a post on Instagram that was worrisome.

"He was one of the guys who was like, 'I don't want help. I can do it on my own,'" Davies said.

Davies now wishes he had stepped in in some way.

"There's a lot of things I wish I could have done."

Davies lives right next to where the shooting took place but did not hear anything.

"It's a heartbreaking feeling. It really is. Seventeen is way too young," Davies said.

"You just don't expect anything like that to happen in Brome Lake. It's a small town, and not a lot of big things happen like this."

BEI looking for witnesses

Eight BEI investigators have been assigned to look into the incident, working in collaboration with Montreal Police technicians.

The BEI is asking anyone who may have witnessed what happened to contact the bureau.

The mayor of Lac-Brome, a town about 95 kilometres southeast of Montreal, says the incident has had an immense impact on the Eastern Townships community.

"For the families involved on the two sides, it's a terrible impact," said Mayor Richard Burcombe.

He said people in the town are very upset about it, but that the town is "very secure."

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