British Columbia prosecutors have approved two criminal charges against Nicholas Bellemare, 25, for the murder of an RCMP officer on Friday.
Bellemare faces one count of first-degree murder, as well as a second count of attempted murder with a firearm.
Const. Ridge Meadows RCMP. Rick O’Brien was shot and killed while executing a search warrant on Friday around 10 a.m. in Coquitlam, British Columbia, a city of 150,000 people about 25 kilometers east of Vancouver.
In a statement Saturday afternoon, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) revealed that O’Brien and two other officers were at the time executing a warrant “in connection with a drug investigation” originating in Maple Ridge, BC.
A search of BC’s online court records did not show any previous charges against the alleged suspect, who is due in court the morning of Oct. 3 at the Port Coquitlam Courts. Until then he will remain in custody.
O’Brien, 51, was a decorated police officer who recently celebrated seven years of service and became a Mountie in 2016. He leaves behind a wife and six children.
