Latest / THE DAILY BRIEF / Police officer, suspect injured in shooting near Belleville, Ont., synagogue

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Police officer, suspect injured in shooting near Belleville, Ont., synagogue · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: We are learning more today about a shootout that has
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  Speaker 1: shaken the Jewish community in the city of Belleville, Ontario.
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  Speaker 1: Police and a man exchanged gunfire outside a synagogue last
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  Speaker 1: night as worshippers were inside marking Yom Kippur. An officer
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  Speaker 1: and the man were wounded. The mayor of Belleville spoke
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  Speaker 1: to CBC News Network earlier about the incident.
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  Speaker 2: It's terrible that something can happen like this in small
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  Speaker 2: town Bowell. We're not used to it. You know, things
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  Speaker 2: are happening.
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  Speaker 3: No, the city.
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  Speaker 2: Of Belleville has zero tolerance for acts of violence and
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  Speaker 2: definitely a difficult day. We all here were deeply saddened and,
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  Speaker 2: you know, we're disturbed by what happened last night.
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  Speaker 1: The CBC's Megan Fitzpatrick is live in Belleville right now. Megan,
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  Speaker 1: what have we learned about the investigation into this exchange
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  Speaker 1: of fire last night?
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  Speaker 4: Well, Andrew, we're as close as we can get to
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  Speaker 4: where it happened. And I'll step out of the way
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  Speaker 4: so you can have a look at the scene here. Obviously,
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  Speaker 4: lots of police tape cordoned off around the synagogue there,
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  Speaker 4: the Sons of Jacob synagogue. Lots of officers on scene
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  Speaker 4: carrying out their investigation. You can see a black vehicle
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  Speaker 4: there parked.
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  Speaker 5: Beside the synagogue.
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  Speaker 4: That is an unmarked Belleville police vehicle, and that is
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  Speaker 4: where an officer was stationed last night when this started unfolding.
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  Speaker 4: And I can see from here, Andrew, that the windshield
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  Speaker 4: of that vehicle is completely damaged. On the far side
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  Speaker 4: of it, when we were at the other end of
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  Speaker 4: the street earlier, we could see... The side of the vehicle,
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  Speaker 4: multiple bullet holes in it and lots of evidence markers
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  Speaker 4: on the ground in front of the synagogue and the
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  Speaker 4: firearm that police say was used by the shooter also
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  Speaker 4: still lying on the pavement. There's also another vehicle parked
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  Speaker 4: across from the synagogue on the other side of the street.
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  Speaker 5: It's a pickup truck.
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  Speaker 4: Pickup truck type vehicle that police say that is the
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  Speaker 4: vehicle that the shooter arrived in. It is parked there
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  Speaker 4: and we can also see bullet damage in that vehicle
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  Speaker 4: as well. I can see at least two bullet holes
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  Speaker 4: in the windshield of that vehicle. So as I said,
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  Speaker 4: multiple officers on scene here, some of them have had
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  Speaker 4: metal detectors that they're using to look for shell casings
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  Speaker 4: as part of their investigation. And we did get that
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  Speaker 4: update from SIU just a little while ago. We got
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  Speaker 4: a few more details about how this all unfolded in
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  Speaker 4: this very quiet residential neighborhood at 7 p.m.
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  Speaker 5: Last night. The SIU saying that a.
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  Speaker 4: Suspect arrived on this street. They believe in that truck
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  Speaker 4: that I was just talking about and fired the suspects.
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  Speaker 4: They say fired at the officer who was stationed outside
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  Speaker 4: of the synagogue to provide security. As members of the
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  Speaker 4: synagogue gathered last night for Yom Kippur, services were just
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  Speaker 4: getting underway when this all started.
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  Speaker 5: And it's not a very large building, as you can see.
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  Speaker 4: They say that the suspect fired at the officer and
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  Speaker 4: the officer returned fire. And they say there was also
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  Speaker 4: another officer that quickly arrived and also fired. So two
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  Speaker 4: officers discharging their weapons. Police saying that there are dozens
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  Speaker 4: of bullet holes. In vehicles around the synagogue, as well
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  Speaker 4: as some homes that were hit as well, not clear,
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  Speaker 4: they said, if the synagogue itself was hit by any gunfire.
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  Speaker 4: Some nearby residents report hearing multiple, multiple shots, maybe 20
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  Speaker 4: to 30 shots fired. And the SIU saying that would
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  Speaker 4: be a fair estimate.
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  Speaker 5: As for the.
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  Speaker 4: Condition of the suspect and the officer, so the suspect
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  Speaker 4: we're hearing... from police is in life-threatening condition, and the
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  Speaker 4: officer is in critical but stable condition. They did release
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  Speaker 4: the name of the suspect and say he is 29
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  Speaker 4: years old, and the officer, they said, had been with
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  Speaker 4: the Belleville Police Service since 2013. describing him as a
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  Speaker 4: dedicated and trusted team member. We heard the deputy police
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  Speaker 4: chief talking about that officer and the impact that this
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  Speaker 4: incident is having on the policing community saying this is
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  Speaker 4: a reminder of the dangers that police officers face on
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  Speaker 4: the job.
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  Speaker 5: She also talked about the impact this is having.
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  Speaker 4: On Belleville's Jewish community and let's hear a little bit
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  Speaker 4: more from her about what she said about that.
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  Speaker 6: We recognize the concern and uncertainty many may be feeling.
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  Speaker 6: particularly given that this occurred near the Sons of Jacob
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  Speaker 6: synagogue during one of the holiest days in the Jewish faith.
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  Speaker 5: Let me be very clear.
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  Speaker 6: Anti-Semitism, hate, and violence have no place in our community.
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  Speaker 6: Every person deserves to feel safe when attending a place
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  Speaker 6: of worship, gathering with loved ones, or participating in community life.
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  Speaker 4: And she said Belleville Police, they are increasing their presence
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  Speaker 4: at places of worship in light of this incident. And
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  Speaker 4: they said they're working with community leaders to provide support
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  Speaker 4: and reassurance. We also know as part of this investigation, Andrew,
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  Speaker 4: the SIU is collecting body cam footage from the officers
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  Speaker 4: who were here on the scene involved in this, as
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  Speaker 4: well as in-camera footage, in-vehicle, in-car footage, they said. exists
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  Speaker 4: as well so they're gathering that as part of their
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  Speaker 4: investigation and they're canvassing the neighborhood here to talk to
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  Speaker 4: people about what they saw and heard and they're asking
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  Speaker 4: anyone with photos or videos or any kind of information
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  Speaker 4: related to the investigation to contact.
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  Speaker 1: Them and i know you've been talking to people what
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  Speaker 1: are you hearing from people there at the scene today Yeah.
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  Speaker 4: We've been talking to nearby residents, but also people who
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  Speaker 4: were inside the synagogue last night when this happened. Earlier today,
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  Speaker 4: CBC News Network interviewed the president of the synagogue. And
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  Speaker 4: I talked to a man who was there last night
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  Speaker 4: who described hearing the gunshots and everyone inside, about 25
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  Speaker 4: people or so, diving for cover, essentially, and hiding. Here's
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  Speaker 4: more of how he described how it unfolded.
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  Speaker 7: Just as we're all about to enter, we heard this
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  Speaker 7: loud bang. And we were like, we didn't really know
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  Speaker 7: what that was, but it was loud, like somebody was
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  Speaker 7: banging on the window or something. And we heard a
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  Speaker 7: couple more loud bangs. So at this point, we were
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  Speaker 7: just standing around like, what's going on? And then I
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  Speaker 7: believe the president of our shul, Norm, kind of went
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  Speaker 7: to the lobby, heard more shots being fired. So he
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  Speaker 7: came back and said, shots fired, shots fired, just take cover.
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  Speaker 7: So we all just kind of found places to take
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  Speaker 7: cover inside the shul. And we just heard a lot
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  Speaker 7: of shots. There were a lot of shots being fired
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  Speaker 7: for what seemed like forever, but probably maybe more than
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  Speaker 7: two minutes.
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  Speaker 4: And he said after a while, Andrew, officers did come in,
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  Speaker 4: told them what was going on, asked if everyone was okay,
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  Speaker 4: if anyone was injured.
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  Speaker 5: Nobody was.
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  Speaker 4: Then they were basically on lockdown for a while inside
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  Speaker 4: the building. And then eventually he said they were put
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  Speaker 4: onto a city bus and taken to the police station
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  Speaker 4: where they gave their statements. We have been hearing from
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  Speaker 4: nearby residents about what they heard and saw last night
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  Speaker 4: as well. Let's take a listen to one of those neighbors.
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  Speaker 3: Started at night. immediately realized there was gunplay. It was
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  Speaker 3: a shootout because there were two different guns going off,
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  Speaker 3: and then there was bang. It sounded almost like an explosion,
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  Speaker 3: but someone said it might have been a gunshot. Sorry,
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  Speaker 3: a shotgun, so it was louder. But you could tell
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  Speaker 3: there were several different kinds of guns being played here,
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  Speaker 3: and the police hadn't even arrived yet, it seemed. I
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  Speaker 3: was just around the corner walking back to my home.
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  Speaker 3: I was 100 yards away from my home when it happened.
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  Speaker 3: And yeah, it was very scary.
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  Speaker 4: Very scary for these nearby residents who tell me, Andrew,
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  Speaker 4: this is a very quiet neighborhood, lots of families. They
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  Speaker 4: can't believe that this happened in their own neighborhood. It's
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  Speaker 4: still kind of sinking in. And for the people who
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  Speaker 4: were inside the synagogue last night as well, the gentleman, Douglas,
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  Speaker 4: that I spoke to saying it was a late night
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  Speaker 4: last night, you know, dealing with all of this. it's
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  Speaker 4: still sinking in. But one thing he did tell me,
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  Speaker 4: he described that police officer who was stationed right beside
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  Speaker 4: the synagogue. He said he's a hero, essentially, and believes
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  Speaker 4: that officer potentially saved their lives. And he said they
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  Speaker 4: are immensely grateful to that officer.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, sounds like a terrifying evening. Megan, thank you. This
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  Speaker 1: is CBC's Megan Fitzpatrick, live in Belleville, Ontario.