METEGHAN RIVER, N.S. — Jacqueline Maillet’s hands were trembling so hard she could barely punch the numbers to call 9-1-1 on her phone.
She and her two daughters had been driving through Meteghan River, Digby County, on the evening of June 29, on their way to get ice cream, when she noticed a man sitting outside of a residence.
“I saw him sitting on his deck and I saw a gun sitting on the handrail and I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s got a gun, is he going to shoot?'” Maillet said. “And before I could even say anything I heard the loud bang of the sound of my car.”
It was a frightening experience, especially not knowing what type of weapon it was.
“Automatically you think, is he going to shoot again? All I could think about were the kids in the backseat,” she says. Her children are 3 and 11 years old.
She drove for a bit, pulled over and called 9-1-1.
“I was shaking so bad I couldn’t even find the keypad on my phone to dial,” she said.
The shot struck her driver's side door. She was grateful it had not struck the window.
RCMP identify weapon as pellet gun
Although it wasn’t initially identified in a media release, the RCMP later said the type of weapon allegedly used to shoot at passing vehicles was a type of pellet gun.
A 46-year-old man is facing charges after numerous people reported to the RCMP that they were shot at they drove on Highway 1 in Meteghan River. He is facing counts of mischief – one for each vehicle shot at – and one count of possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose. When the man was arrested the RCMP knew of six vehicles that had reported being shot at. As of July 2 the number had grown to eight.
Because the charges have not yet been filed with the court, the man’s name was not released by the RCMP.
The man was arrested without incident at his residence. The RCMP searched the home and seized several additional firearms.
Asked on July 2 for more specifics about the seized firearms and if additional firearm-related charges will be forthcoming, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jennifer Clarke said, “The investigating members are continuing to examine the firearms that were seized and are working with the National Weapons Enforcement Team to determine what the additional charges will be. This may take some time. However, the RCMP has addressed the concern for public safety by seizing the firearms and releasing the accused on conditions to not be in possession of firearms.”
The suspect was held in police custody overnight following his June 29 arrest. Cpl. Clarke said he was released by the RCMP the following morning on conditions, which includes not being in possession of firearms. He is slated to appear in Digby Provincial Court on Aug. 24.
On social media people expressed concern, surprise and anger that the man had been released from custody – and released so soon.
"Did you get shot at?"
Fay Doucet and Catherine Muise were also driving on Highway 1 through Meteghan River that evening. Muise was the driver and Doucet said she and her friend were chatting when they heard what sounded like a rock hitting their vehicle. Doucet looked ahead and saw a truck with an all-terrain vehicle in the back. She assumed a rock had spun off that vehicle. She hadn’t seen anyone pointing a weapon from the side of the road.
“We were busy chatting so I wasn’t really looking at my surroundings,” Doucet said.
“It sounded like a big rock had hit the roof,” said Muise. “I actually said, ‘I’m so glad it didn’t hit the windshield because it would have made a big mess.’”
When they got to their destination a friend who had been driving in the same direction approached the two women and asked, “Did you get shot at?” Their friend was visibly upset. A shot had hit the middle of her driver’s side door. “We could tell it was a pellet gun,” Doucet said. “It had embedded itself into the car.”
That’s when Doucet and Muise checked their vehicle and discovered it wasn’t a rock that had hit it, but something else.
"On the driver’s side it had embedded itself on the wheel well. About a quarter of an inch lower it would have hit the tire,” Doucet said. They considered themselves fortunate the incident hadn’t led to an accident. “It was kind of scary,” she said.
Muise said thinking about all of the ‘what if’s’ definitely gives you an uneasy feeling. She had to leave work early the following day to give a statement to the RCMP. The repair to her vehicle, she said, will be costly.
As for the damage to the vehicles, Cpl. Clarke said, “We did examine all vehicles involved and there was no penetration. The damage consisted of dents to vehicle bodies and paint.”
But the emotional tole of an incident like this goes beyond dents and chipped paint.
On Canada Day evening Maillet said they went to watch fireworks in Meteghan and hearing the popping sounds was unsettling.
“A couple of times it made me jump, but I was with my RCMP friend so I definitely felt more at ease,” she said. Still, about the June 29 incident Maillet said, “It’s definitely an experience I’ll never forget.”
