FOUR MOUNTIES SHOT DEAD

'Terrible Shock and Mourning'

Four RCMP officers -- almost the entire membership of a rural
detachment -- were shot and killed Thursday in one of the darkest days
in RCMP history.

The officers -- one of whom was identified by a family friend as
Const. Brock Myrol, 29 -- were investigating a suspected marijuana
growing operation at a farm near Mayerthorpe, a community about 130
kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli, in an emotional news
conference in Ottawa Thursday evening, confirmed the deaths.

"It is with profound sadness that I confirm that four members of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police were killed today in service to our
country," said Zaccardelli.

"It is an unprecedented and unspeakable loss."

It was the first time in decades that multiple Canadian police
officers have been killed while in action and it prompted a statement
from Prime Minister Paul Martin.

"Canadians are shocked by this brutality, and join me in condemning
the violent acts that brought about these deaths," Martin said in the
statement.

"This terrible event is a reminder of the sacrifice and bravery of the
men and women who serve in our national police force, and of the
dangerous circumstances which they often confront, in order to make
Canada a safer place."

RCMP say three members who died were from the Mayerthorpe detachment
and one from a detachment in nearby Whitecourt. A family friend said
Myrol had started with the Mayerthorpe detachment on Feb. 14. He was
originally from Red Deer.

The other officers were not immediately identified.

The officers were guarding the scene of an investigation at a large
Quonset hut at a farm in Rochfort Bridge near the community of
Mayerthorpe Thursday morning when shots were fired by a lone gunman,
who apparently caught the officers by surprise. The gunman also died
at the scene.

"We're all in terrible shock and mourning as you can imagine," said
RCMP Assistant Commissioner Bill Sweeney of K Division in Alberta.

"This is a tremendous loss," added Alberta Solicitor General Harvey
Cenaiko.

Cenaiko was visibly shaken. "It was a senseless act. Four officers
died today."

The prime minister also expressed his condolences to the families of
the four officers, who were all male junior members.

"On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to express my
condolences to the families of the officers who were killed as they
carried out their duty in enforcing the law and protecting the
public," said Paul Martin.

The officers were not immediately identified.

"We must respect the process of the medical examiner," said RCMP Cpl.
Wayne Oakes.

Two of the officers were at the farmhouse overnight, guarding the
scene in an investigation that also involved stolen property, said
Oakes. The other two officers joined them in the morning. Other
Mounties who were on the scene heard shots at 10 a.m., and the
decision was made to call in help, said Oakes.

Just after 2 p.m., officers stormed the building and found the bodies
of the four officers and the suspect, James Roszko.

"There are four dead," an officer said at the police operations base
at a Legion hall in Mayerthorpe as relatives of the deceased officers
arrived mid-afternoon. One woman collapsed in tears after speaking
with one of the officers, then got in her car and drove away.

Officers and soldiers wearing body armour and carrying high-powered
rifles came and went from the operations base, many with tears in their eyes.

More than 100 officers were on the scene, along with soldiers from the
Canadian military, who provided three Bison armoured vehicles.

There was confusion throughout the day after Cenaiko told reporters
that officers were executing a search warrant when they were met with
gunfire. The four officers had failed to respond to their radios after
conducting the raid.

At mid-day Oakes said there was reason to believe a lone male suspect
was armed with a high-powered rifle.

But Oakes would not release any more information at the time, saying
RCMP did not want to jeopardize the officers' safety.

RCMP set up roadblocks around the farm and the air space over the area
was closed throughout the day. A television station in Edmonton
reported that neighbours believe a man tried to flee the property at
high speed Wednesday night.

Maj. Scott Lundy, a spokesman for Edmonton Garrison, said two armoured
personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20 military personnel were
dispatched from the military base but, about two hours later, police
told the military their help was no longer needed.

People in the town of 1,570 huddled around radios in the hardware
store and by their pickup trucks as the tragedy unfolded. At the end
of the day, the flag in front of the local Legion was lowered to half-mast.

Emotions ran high, with local residents striking out at reporters and
photographers who had descended on the town. One CBC cameraman was
reportedly punched in the eye by a relative of one of the deceased
officers.

Mayerthorpe Mayor Albert Schalm said: "I'm sick. I don't know what to
tell you. It shocks me that this could even happen."

James Roszko, the suspect in the shooting, was well-known around town
as being violent and mentally unstable.

"Cops have known about him for a long time," said Pat Burns, a local
carpenter. "The justice system doesn't have the balls to do what needs
to be done."

Several people in town said there were rumours of Roszko hiding
weapons on his property. The suspect is also reputed to have put
planks with spikes in his driveway. When scrutineers came in before
the last provincial election, the spikes blew out their tires.

He was described as a loner who lived in a trailer on the west side of
the farm, and his mother lived in a home on the other side of the large farm.

In Whitecourt, Mayor Trevor Thain said: "The detachment is a great
bunch of people and I'm sure I can't even begin to imagine how they
feel right now."

Thain said the Whitecourt detachment has about 15 officers while the
Mayerthorpe detachment only has about three or four members. Those
numbers don't include a highway patrol unit that is administered
through the Whitecourt detachment.

The officers who were shot were not part of the drug
squad.

Thursday's shooting was the first time in nearly 20 years multiple
Canadian police officers were slain in action. On July 4, 1985, Const.
Jacques Giguere and his partner, Const. Yves Tetu of the Quebec Police
Service, were gunned down as they investigated the tripping of a
burglar alarm at a medical equipment warehouse.

Forty officers in Canada have died in the line of duty since 2000,
including seven in 2004.

Reaction to the deaths came in from all parts of Alberta and across
the country.

Premier Ralph Klein was shaken by the deaths.

"The violent slaying of four Alberta RCMP officers in the line of duty
is a crime of horrific proportions. It saddens me beyond words. Their
loss is immeasurable. Immeasurable, too, is the sympathy and respect
that all Albertans feel for the four lost officers and for those who
knew them and loved them. These four officers gave their lives for the
most noble of causes: upholding the law and maintaining the peace of
their community. It saddens us that four brave people have been torn
from their families while selflessly serving their community."

In B.C., Attorney General Geoff Plant said the tragedy should dispel
any doubts people might have about the dangerous nature of marijuana
grow operations.

"I think there is an attitude that is part of our culture in British
Columbia that thinks that a grow op is just your neighbour making a
couple of bags of marijuana for some of his friends," Plant said in an
interview at the legislature, shortly after learning of the deaths.
"Whether that was ever true -- 20 or 30 years ago -- it's sure not
true today.

"We're talking about the commercial manufacture of marijuana for the
purpose of participating in an international organized crime activity.
That's very serious business."

In Ottawa, Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan called the Mounties
"four brave, selfless public servants." She said the work police
officers do is dangerous and "some days they pay an enormous price."

The leader of the official Opposition also expressed his condolences
Thursday.

"This incident serves as a poignant reminder of the men and women in
law enforcement across our country who risk their lives daily," said
Conservative Leader Stephen Harper. "We join them to mourn the loss of
their fallen colleagues."

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HOW IT HAPPENED:

March 2, midday: RCMP in Mayerthorpe, investigating a report of stolen
property and a marijuana grow operation, set up a watch at a farm near
Rochfort Bridge. Two officers guard the scene overnight.

March 3, morning: Additional officers arrive.

10 a.m.: Gunfire erupts inside a Quonset hut. Four officers are killed
by a man with a high-powered rifle.

In the following hours: RCMP and city police from Edmonton and Calgary
flood into the area. Airspace over the area is closed as a precaution.

12:30 p.m.: RCMP issue a call for assistance from soldiers at Edmonton
Garrison. Two armoured personnel carriers, an ambulance and about 20
soldiers are dispatched. The military officials are later told their
help is no longer needed.

2:20 p.m.: Police enter the Quonset hut, and find the bodies of four
RCMP officers and the male shooter.