There was a large police presence in a Moncton neighbourhood Saturday afternoon. Shortly before 3 p.m., Codiac Regional RCMP said there was a “police operation” on Briardale Drive. The public was told to avoid the area around Mountain and Gorge roads. Police could be seen with carbines on the streets of the northwest Moncton neighbourhood. Approximately an hour later, police said the operation had “concluded.” Robbie Justason’s house was extensively damaged and his vehicle was destroyed in a fire during the incident. He told CTV News he was working in his basement when he heard “loud banging” upstairs. “I come upstairs thinking it’s the cat knocking something over and I see this guy on the back porch and he just starts banging away on the back door and shattered the glass,” he said. “I was going to try and scare him off, but he flashed a gun.” That’s when Justason said he ran out the front door. “Scariest moment of my life. Probably the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me.” He was able to run to a neighbour’s house and tell them what was going on. “I heard gunshots by the time I got outside,” he said. Heather Stevens lives just a few doors up from Justason. She said she saw marked and unmarked police cars coming down the street and arriving in front of his house. “Then I heard about four shots and then I saw smoke and I came out on the step to see what the smoke was and the fellow in this RCMP vehicle said, ‘Ma’am, get back in your house,’ so I went back in,” said Stevens. Stevens said it was a frightening incident. “It is scary because this is usually a very quiet street and today, Saturday, it’s anything but quiet,” said Stevens. Police have not yet provided any details on this incident, but did say officers will remain in the area as part of the ongoing investigation. As of 4:30 p.m. officers and members of the Moncton Fire Department remained on scene. The Moncton Fire Department deferred the matter to the RCMP. CTV News has reached out to RCMP for more information. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
