Man charged with murder in Saint John shooting, final suspect apprehended

A man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to a fatal shooting in Saint John.

A man is facing a murder charge after a fatal shooting in Saint John, N.B., on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Hayden Donald-Bentley appeared in provincial court. Bentley was charged with first-degree murder and remanded into custody.

A second suspect, a youth who remains unidentified, has been arrested and is in police custody awaiting his appearance in provincial court.

Saint John Police arrested a third suspect Wednesday afternoon with the help of Kennebecasis Regional Police. He will appear in court Thursday.

Donald-Bentley’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 21.

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The murder charge comes after police responded to a report of shots fired near Carmarthen Street at King Street East around 10:28 a.m. Tuesday, said a news release.

Officers found the body of a 20-year-old man inside a vehicle when they arrived on scene. The victim’s name has not been released.

An alert ready was issued for the area, with police saying they were looking for three suspects.

Police placed nearby schools in lockdown as a precautionary measure and asked residents to shelter in place until approximately 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, when they lifted the alert after arresting a suspect.

Police deployed resources from Patrol Services, Emergency Tactical Services, Integrated Enforcement Unit, Forensics Identification Unit and the Major Crime Unit during the incident.

Police said they believed the shooting was an isolated incident.

The Major Crime Unit continues to investigate.

Residents ‘on edge’ after daytime shooting

Speaking with CTV News Wednesday, Saint John Mayor Donna Reardon offered her condolences to the family of the 20-year-old man who was shot and killed Tuesday in the city’s uptown.

The mayor acknowledges the daytime shooting does have some residents feeling “on edge” 24 hours later.

“Police sort of insinuated that the public was not at risk, so obviously a targeted shooting,” said Reardon.

“It does put you at ease because in broad daylight and in public, things can go wrong. There’s always the collateral damage of any of these things that we’re all at risk for.”

The mayor says she has heard from some residents about the mixed messaging from police throughout the day Tuesday, which included media releases, social media posts, and an alert-ready notification all within a few hours of one another.

“It’s always a balance of trying to get information out to people,” the mayor noted. “You don’t want to be a fearmonger and you don’t want to paralyze people from enjoying their own communities.”

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