Fredericton police are investigating the city’s first homicide of the year.
Police responded to a stabbing incident on Sunday morning at 2 o’clock.
“Upon arrival we found a victim in critical condition,” explains Corporal Dwight Doyle of the Fredericton Police Force. “Subsequently passed away on the scene, and at approximately 8:15 this morning we arrested, what we believed, to be the sole suspect in the stabbing.”
Forensics officers spent most of the morning pouring over a small area.
They took pictures and poked through accumulating snow, while some parts of the scene lay underneath tarps.
Police say a second scene emerged about 10 kilometers away, just outside of city limits.
About six hours after the stabbing, Fredericton Police and New Brunswick RCMP arrested one suspect in the community of Hanwell without incident.
The stabbing happened during one of the winter’s biggest storms, complicating matters for police.
The falling snow made it difficult to find hidden evidence.
Once forensics teams had finished, a search and rescue crew was brought in.
They used rakes and a metal detector to scour the scene.
Searchers told CTV News they were looking for a metal object, but wouldn’t offer specifics.
As residents in the area shoveled out, they expressed shock at what had happened.
“Well you never know what’s going to happen eh,” says one Fredericton resident. “It’s pretty surprising.”
“I’ve lived out in this area all my life,” says another. “Thirty-three years, and never really had anything like that happen, it’s definitely was an eye opener. I guess something weird.”
Police wouldn’t speculate on possible motives, and they have yet to identify the victim, pending notification of the family.
They would not discuss genders of the suspect and victim, but say they believe this is an isolated incident.
Police say their investigation continues, and no charges have yet to be laid.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Andy Campbell
