RAID ENDS IN BLOODBATH

4 Officers, Gunman Found Dead at Rural Alberta Grow Op

ROCHFORT BRIDGE, ALTA. - A crazed gunman with a simmering hatred for
police shot four RCMP officers to death at a rural marijuana grow
operation yesterday, the country's worst police bloodbath in more than
a century. Mounties exchanged shots with gunman James Roszko, 47, near
the village of Rochfort Bridge north of Edmonton around 10 a.m. Four
hours later they moved in to find their comrades, two from
Mayerthorpe, Alta., and two from Whitecourt, Alta., and the gunman
dead.

"The loss of four police officers in a single event is unprecedented.
You would have to go back to 1885 to the Northwest Rebellion to see
something of this scale," said a devastated commanding officer Bill
Sweeney, at the Mayerthorpe RCMP detachment.

'Terrible Shock'

"This is a terrible shock for all of us and we are in a state of
mourning. Our hearts and prayers are with the families."

Police sources said the grow op was raided by Edmonton police and the
RCMP Green Team Wednesday night. At about 10 a.m. yesterday, four
officers entered a large metal quonset hut.

Roszko, who was not at the property during the raid, had returned by
then and "ambushed" the officers, a source said.

The gunman fired at the officers, who were wearing soft body armour
and carrying handguns.

"They were not going into a potential armed conflict," said RCMP
spokesman Cpl. Wayne Oakes. "They were guarding a scene."

The site was secured and airspace over the area was closed as a safety
precaution. Tactical resources were deployed, including RCMP emergency
response teams, major crimes unit and the General Investigation
Section, as well as Edmonton's police chopper. A total of about 35
officers swarmed the area.

Around 2 p.m., three dark-coloured SUVs drove onto the property.
Roughly 10 minutes later, two officers wearing paramilitary fatigues
and bulletproof vests appeared at a fence in front of the Quonset
barn, a long, low metal structure.

The Mounties had their rifles aimed inside the barn.

At the same time, another group of similarly equipped officers
approached the barn from the north side with a pair of police dogs --
out of the line of sight of a possible shooter in the barn.

The tactical officers waited another 10 or 15 minutes, and made their
way to the barn entrance using a tractor as cover.

Two officers then appeared walking away from the barn, dragging what
appeared to be a human body by the elbows. Following that, Mounties
stormed the site.

Support Offered

"The scene was not what officers were hoping to encounter," said
Oakes.

"We are deeply saddened by the death of four RCMP members. Two of the
officers were posted at the Mayerthorpe detachment and two were posted
at the Whitecourt detachment. The gunman was also found deceased in
the Quonset.

"Support is being offered to the families of our fallen officers and
to the members and families of our staff at both detachments."

Alberta Premier Ralph Klein said he was surprised and saddened that
such a tragedy would occur in the quiet farming community.

He later issued a news release expressing condolences to the families
of the slain officers, as well as their colleagues.

"It saddens me beyond words," he said. "Their loss is
immeasurable."

Alberta Solicitor General Harvey Cenaiko called the killings
"senseless."

"This is a tragic loss to the RCMP and to the community of
Mayerthorpe. The officers were well-respected."

Lawyer Guy Fontaine represented Roszko in the '90s and said the battle
with police wasn't a surprise. "There was no love lost between Roszko
and the RCMP," he said.

Roszko had a number of guns, including a 9-mm handgun, and explosives
concealed on his property, said Reco Fast, an acquaintance of Roszko
for 13 years.

Fast, 29, who met Roszko through a mutual friend, said the gunman
started "stalking" him and his wife after they were married.

The friend who introduced them, meanwhile, was held at gunpoint by
Roszko in an incident Fast said led to unlawful confinement charges.

And then it happened to Fast.

"He had me on a couch in his house with a gun pointed at me," Fast
recalled.

"He's a nutcase, just insane."