A 26-year-old Indigenous woman from Vancouver Island has died after being shot by a police officer in New Brunswick early Thursday morning.
Family have identified the woman as Chantel Moore, a member of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, who recently relocated to Edmundston from Port Alberni to live with her mother and 5-year-old daughter.
On June 4, at around 2:30 a.m., the Edmundston Police Force said they received a request to check on the well-being of a woman at an apartment building on Hill Street.
According to reports, a former boyfriend of Moore who lives in Toronto had asked police to check on her, as he was concerned for her well-being after receiving some “strange” messages on Facebook.
Upon arriving at Moore’s apartment, the responding officer said they were confronted by the woman, and claims that she was holding a knife and made threats towards them.
The officer then fired their weapon and despite attempts to resuscitate her, Moore was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation into the incident is ongoing, and an autopsy has been scheduled.
Due to the nature of the incident, the Edmundston Police Force has requested the services of an independent agency to conduct a review of what occurred.
According to a tweet, Quebec’s independent police watchdog BEI will be handling the review.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to support Moore’s mother and daughter, and has surpassed $15,000 raised at the time of publication.
