A former resident of St. Paul, Alta., where police are probing a shootout that left three RCMP officers injured, says he was “shocked” when he learned who investigators had identified as the suspect.
Edgar Bussiere said the man, who died at the scene of the gunfight on Friday, managed a family-owned health food store in St. Paul with his wife. He said the last time he saw the man at Health Mart 2000 was about 10 days ago.
“I used to deal with him all the time,” Bussiere told CTV Edmonton in a telephone interview on Sunday. “(He) was a very, very nice guy.”
On Friday at about 6 p.m. local time, when St. Paul’s downtown area was bustling, police said a man in a black pickup truck rammed a marked RCMP vehicle, pinning the officer inside. Police said on Saturday the female officer remained in hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries.
After ramming the police vehicle, investigators said the suspect then opened fire on two male RCMP officers in a second police car. The officers returned fire and the driver of the vehicle died at the scene, according to police. The two RCMP officers also suffered injuries and were transported to hospital. They were released on Friday.
Police on Saturday identified the suspect as John Carlos Quadros, 55, of St. Paul.
“I was very, very shocked,” Bussiere said of the news. “It was just unbelievable. I couldn’t believe (he) would even think of doing something like that.”
Police have launched an investigation into the incident. A separate investigation into the death of a young Catholic priest has also been launched.
Investigators said crews responded to a distress call at St. Paul Church rectory on Friday at about the same time as the man in the pickup truck rammed the police vehicle. The priest was taken to hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
He has been identified as Father Gilbert Dasna, 32, by the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton.
The priest’s death is being treated as a homicide, and investigators are probing whether his death “is related” to the shootout.
Meanwhile, parishioners at St. Paul Cathedral where Dasna worked as a spiritual leader are mourning the unexpected loss.
“He (was) really a good priest,” Gemma Weibe told CTV Edmonton on Sunday. “He (was) really a good shepherd, especially to the children.”
“Father Gilbert was just an amazing man,” said Laurette Corbiere, another parishioner, adding that Dasna’s death has been especially difficult for the church’s other spiritual leader, Father Gerard Gauthier.
“It’s like your roommate being gone.”
On Sunday – the first Sunday mass since Dasna’s death – Gauthier chose not to lead the service.
“I decided that I wouldn’t preach. It was just too difficult,” he told CTV Edmonton.
Gauthier lived in the rectory where police had found Dasna on Friday. He was out of town at the time of the incident.
Church officials are expected to release details of Dasna’s funeral in the coming days. Meanwhile, autopsies for both the suspect and the priest have been scheduled for Tuesday.
The health food store where the suspect worked appeared to be open on Sunday, but staff members did not want to speak to CTV Edmonton.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the RCMP officers' actions because a civilian was killed, police said.
With files from CTV Edmonton
