[1][4][5] On 10 August 2018, around 7:00 a.m. ADT, multiple witnesses reported dozens of shots being fired on Brookside Drive between Main Street and Ring Road in a residential neighbourhood on the north side of the city of Fredericton.

[6][7] At 7:10 a.m., Fredericton Police officers Lawrence Robert Costello and Sara Burns responded to calls of shots being fired outside of an apartment building.

[14] Police have identified two dead civilians as musician Donald Adam Robichaud, 42, and his girlfriend, Bobbie-Lee Wright, 32.

In the immediate aftermath, police were quoted as saying they were "at the early stages of a very significant event,"[6] and a spokesperson for Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale stated that, as it was a "developing situation," it would be "premature to determine whether there are any national security implications.

"[11] Fredericton Police also asked that any civilian witnesses make available whatever documentation they may have had of the incident in order to aid in the investigation.

[6] New Brunswick Premier Brian Gallant and Fredericton Mayor Mike O'Brien shared their condolences for the victims and their families.

[6] Some residents of the area likened the incident to the 2014 Moncton shooting, and one said, "Immediately, I thought of Justin Bourque.

[31] A local boy recorded a cover of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah with some of the lyrics changed to focus on the two deceased officers.

The initial video was viewed by over 400,000 times by 13 August, and he was invited to perform it live at one of the vigils for the victims.