A man who opened fire on the Vanderhoof RCMP detachment was found not guilty Tuesday of attempted murder but will face sentencing on a lesser charge of reckless discharge of a firearm.
In issuing her verdict on Tuesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Francesca Marzari also found Paul Nicholas Russell guilty of five other charges in relation to the Nov. 25, 2021 incident.
On the most serious charge, Marzari said she was not satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that that Russell specifically intended to kill anyone, noting in part that no one could be seen through the window on the west side of the detachment that one bullet pierced and that the one on the east side was heavily mirrored.
In finding him guilty of reckless discharge, the judge noted Russell has a "long history with guns" and chose a busy time on a work day when he pulled up alongside the detachment shortly after midday and began firing off the first of at least 15 rounds from a hunting rifle.
"If Mr. Russell had taken these actions at midnight on a weekend, I might have been left with some doubt in this regard. However, I am satisfied that if Mr. Russell did not know with certainty that persons were present in the building on the day and at the time he took his actions, he certainly must have know there was a risk they would be there and he nevertheless chose to take those actions."
Russell's state of mind was a central issue. In the lead up, Russell had displayed episodes of strange and delusional behaviour and had been prescribed anti-psychotic medication. However, he had not been taking them regularly and, on the day of the incident, 10 of the pills were found in his home when the full 30 he had been prescribed should have been used up.
Russell's odd behaviour continued during the arrest and in the aftermath, the court had heard. However, Marzari found it "entirely speculative" that his mental health had "any effect or bearing" on his ability to understand the consequences of his actions.
In summarizing her findings of fact, Marzari recounted a terrifying sequence of events beginning shortly after midday when Russell, wearing a fedora and reflector sunglasses, pulled his pickup truck into the oncoming lane of Church Avenue on the west side of the detachment and opened fire, striking two marked RCMP vehicles with three rounds each while the two civilian vehicles parked there were not hit.
From there, he moved further along Church and fire two more rounds at an exposed window. One struck the brick frame and the other broke through the window, went through a computer monitor on the office manager's desk, a divider at the back of the office and past the doorway of the commanding officer before lodging in the fax machine in the common area.
The office manager had left for lunch before the shots first rang out. The bullet narrowly missed the commanding officer, Sgt. Kyle Ushock.
Russell then turned onto Columbia Street while staying in the oncoming lane. Marzari found he fired four more rounds then left the scene, heading toward Burrard Avenue where he turned north after stopping to let a pedestrian cross the road.
Five minutes later, he was back, this time entering on the detachment's east side where he used his pickup to ram an RCMP vehicle into an exit door and fired three shots at it. Two more shots were fired through a detachment window, this time going through the now empty traffic section.
The two bullets travelled over top of one of the chairs in the office and lodged in the metal shelving units above the desk, while debris from the cubicle lodged in the back wall of the next office over.
Once he had left the area, RCMP began their search for Russell. Local schools were locked down, an "active shooter" alert was issued and police from surrounding communities converged on the town, 100 kilometres west of Prince George. Russell was apprehended a short time later and has remained in custody since then.
On the Saturday before the incident, the Canadian Firearms Centre left a message on answering machine of Russell's parents saying he might need a mental health certificate to keep his rifles. By then, Russell's parents had taken possession of the key to a gun safe at his home where he kept more than 20 rifles but it was not clear if he had access to another one.
Marzari found Russell had heard the message but added she was left with an overall impression that he "generally respected and admired the police and identified himself with the military and para-military structures." and later went on to note Russell's "apparent delusion of being part of a military operation" while still finding it "did not detract from the common sense inference that he understood the risks of firing a rifle into an RCMP building."
