Two teens facing charges following New Brunswick emergency alert

A sign for Burtts Corner, N.B., is pictured on July 29, 2025. (Sarah Plowman/CTV News)

Two teens are facing charges following an Alert Ready message outside Fredericton Tuesday morning.

Members of the Minto and Keswick RCMP detachments responded to a report of shots fired towards a residence on Richibucto Road around 4:10 a.m.

Three suspects left the scene in a burgundy SUV before police arrived.

No one was injured.

Police say they received a report around 7 a.m. that the same people had stolen several items from a business on Route 104 in Zealand and then fled the scene in the SUV.

The SUV crashed and was found abandoned on the side of the road a short time later.

Police say the occupants of the SUV fled before they arrived.

The New Brunswick RCMP said in a post on social media just after 8 a.m. that it was searching for a person believed to be “carrying weapons with dangerous intent” in the area of Route 104 in Zealand.

An Alert Ready message was issued about 20 minutes later in the Zealand and Burtts Corner regions advising residents to shelter in place and to avoid the area.

Police then clarified they were searching for “individuals” reported to be carrying weapons.

Officers arrested a 16-year-old youth from Kingsclear First Nation and an 18-year-old woman from Minto near a school in Burtts Corner in connection with investigation.

The Alert Ready ended around 9:40 a.m.

Police say the 18-year-old was later released pending a future appearance in court.

The 16-year-old appeared in Fredericton provincial court Tuesday and was charged with:

• possession of stolen property
• theft
• breach of probation

He was remanded into custody pending a future court appearance.

Police say they have identified the third person involved and are still looking for them.

“Based on the current investigation, police have determined that there is no longer an imminent threat to public safety. The decision to conclude the alert was made after assessing that the remaining individual is not believed to pose an immediate risk to the general public at this time,” reads a Wednesday news release from the RCMP.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.