31-year-old Saint John man charged in weekend homicide as father of the deceased grieves

First-degree murder charges have been laid in Saint John’s first homicide of the year.

Zakkary Hyulett Reed, 31, appeared in court to face the charge Monday following a Sunday morning homicide in the 100 block of King Street East.

Saint John Police say officers responded to a report of an alleged shooting just before 6 a.m. Sunday. Upon arrival, police found 38-year old Alexander Daryl Bishop who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Reed was taken into custody by police a few hours later around 9:30 a.m. Sunday following a high risk traffic stop on Main Street North conducted by Emergency Tactical Services.

Daryl Bishop, the father of the deceased, said his son was a fun-loving young man.

“He had a lot of buddies and friends and they all loved him,” Bishop said Monday.

Daryl Bishop holds up a photo of his son Alexander Daryl Bishop who was allegedly shot and killed Sunday morning. (CTV Atlantic/Avery MacRae)

“I’ve had about 400 texts in the past day from his friends letting me know how sad they are that this has happened.”

Bishop said his son was a skilled soccer player as a teenager, only stopping after suffering a major knee injury that required surgery. He was prescribed pain killers during his recovery.

“When drugs entered the scene, it was just a snap overnight sort of,” says Bishop. “And he was never the same again.”

Bishop believes his sons descent into drug use may have been a contributing factor in his death. He wants to see more resources to help fight the growing issue in the city.

“We need to support our police to have the manpower and time to go after drug dealers and just get rid of it,” Bishop said.

“I know that is a tall order because there is a vast chain and it’s all over the world. You get rid of one and there are 200 more coming in their place, but you have to start somewhere.”

Bishop warned parents to keep a close eye on their children.

“It will pay you dividends in having a safe child in the end… Do everything you can to keep them as busy as possible so they don’t have free time on their hands to get involved with this.”

The Sunday morning shooting hasmany uptown residents feeling uneasy. This is the first homicide police have dealt with this year, and just the third since 2022.

Staff Sergeant Sean Rocca with the Saint John Police Force said there is no risk to the public relating to this case.

“The evidence that the police have gathered up until this point suggest that there was one suspect involved, and that the suspect was known to the victim,” said Rocca. “Therefore we do not believe this to be a random act of violence.”

Police are continuing their investigation.

“There is currently three scenes being held by the police right now,” as of Monday morning, Rocca said. “The crime scene itself would be in the 100 block of King Street East, and there’s two other scenes that are being held awaiting judicial authorization to search and process.”

Investigators are still asking anyone with evidence or information to contact the Saint John Police Force at 1-506-648-3333 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.