POSTED AT 6:45 PM EDT ON 18/07/06
The suspect in the killing of two Saskatchewan Mounties has turned himself in. Regina RCMP held a news conference to say that on Tuesday Mr. Dagenais surrendered without incident to authorities in Spiritwood, the site of the fatal shooting. "There is a sense of relief," said Cpl. Brian Jones. "He came into the detachment on his own ... We're just glad that he did." He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of constables Robin Cameron, 29, and Marc Bourdages, 26.
Two Mounties die after Saskatchewan shooting
The officers, 26-year-old Marc Bourdages and 29-year-old Robin Cameron, had been in critical condition in a Saskatoon hospital since the shooting on July 7.I can't wait for the gun control people to jump all over this, but like James Roszko in Mayerthorpe, no one who knew this guy can say they didn't see it coming. Note that Arthur Dagenais (the father of the man wanted in the shootings) is currently being held in jail for possession of an unregistered firearm. Obviously these two guys weren't overly concerned with the Liberals TWO BILLION DOLLAR Farmer Bob Rifle Registry.
Interesting aside...
* There are nearly 7 million registered long-guns in Canada. Yet of 549 murders recorded in Canada in 2003, only 2 were committed with long-guns known to be registeredWho is Curtis Alfred Dagenais?
(Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics).
Local residents, acquaintances and even family members have described him almost unanimously as a quiet loner who was the town's bad ass.Another James Roszko?
Between 1999 and 2004, Curt was convicted in three separate incidents on charges including assaulting and threatening to kill highway traffic officers.
The situation with Curt was so serious that the union representing the peace officers asked the province to allow them to carry guns. Union officials also requested that he be listed as “violent” on a national police database that highway traffic officers can access.
Saskatchewan Party MLA Denis Allchurch, who lives in Spiritwood said the similarities between Mayerthorpe's James Roszko, the 46-year-old who ambushed the Mounties and was called a small-town “bad ass” by Alberta's Justice Minister, and Curt are troubling.
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