By Canadian Press

Slain officer identified, two others in hospital after shooting east of Ottawa: OPP

May 11, 2023 | 8:06 AM

BOURGET, Ont. — One officer is dead and two others were injured early Thursday morning after they were shot in a village east of Ottawa, Ontario Provincial Police said. 

The OPP commissioner said he anxiously awaited further information about the two injured officers, as he identified the slain officer as Sgt. Eric Mueller.

“It is with an extremely heavy heart that I regretfully advise that OPP Sgt. Eric Mueller has been killed in the line of duty,” OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said in a statement posted to social media.

“We anxiously await for further word on his fellow officers who are still at hospital.” 

The three OPP officers responded shortly after 2 a.m. to a disturbance at a home in Bourget, Ont., where someone reported hearing a gunshot, OPP said. 

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When they arrived, the officers were shot by someone at the home, police said. All three were sent to an Ottawa hospital. 

In a statement, Premier Doug Ford extended his thoughts to the family of Mueller, who he said was “senselessly killed in the line of duty.” 

The Ontario Provincial Police Association said it was “devastated” to learn about the shooting. 

“Our officer will forever be remembered as a hero in life,” the association representing OPP officers said in a statement. 

One person is in custody and there was no risk to public safety, OPP said. 

Ottawa police officers were supporting an OPP operation in the Bourget area, the service tweeted early Thursday. 

It’s the latest deadly shooting to shake a police force in Ontario. Last weekend, the names of four officers killed last year were added to the Ontario Police Memorial as part of an annual remembrance ceremony.

Toronto police Const. Andrew Hong was shot in what police described as an ambush on Sept. 12 at a Mississauga, Ont., Tim Hortons. A month later, South Simcoe Police constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell were killed after they responded to a disturbance call in Innisfill, Ont. 

Then on Dec. 27, OPP say Const. Greg Pierzchala was fatally shot in an ambush while responding to call for a vehicle in a ditch. 

Bourget is about 50 kilometres east of Ottawa. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.

The Canadian Press