Brampton Courthouse Shooting
| Brampton Courthouse Shooting | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Date | Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 665: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Attack type | Shootout |
| Weapons | Semi-automatic pistol |
| Deaths | 1 (the perpetrator) |
Non-fatal injuries | 1 |
| Perpetrator | Charnjit Bassi |
On March 28, 2014 45-year-old Charnjit Bassi with a concealed semi-automatic pistol walked into the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse. The gunman attempted to pass through a security checkpoint, where he was confronted by an officer. Bassi fired at the officer, striking him once and began proceeding into the building. He was shot once by a second officer, and three times by the initial wounded officer. The shooting sparked large panic throughout the courthouse, and a large police response involving the RCMP. An investigation was started by the SIU into the officers' actions.
Shooting[edit]
The shooting took place during the late morning of March 28, 2014, at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse in Brampton, Ontario. At 11:00 a.m., Bassi walked into the building wearing a beige jacket, fedora-style hat, brown slacks, and a brown sweater.[1] The gunman approached a security checkpoint that was reserved for lawyers and court staff.[2] The line he had entered lacked a metal detector. 53-year-old Const. Mike Klarenbeek confronted the man, and asked for him to join the public line. “He wanted to enter the building under the pretense that he was a lawyer”, one witness recalled. Bassi then pulled out his handgun and fired two rounds towards the confronting officer. Klarenbeek was hit with one bullet in the upper abdomen. The bullet exited through his lower back. Klarenbeek was not wearing a bulletproof vest and was knocked down, but managed to get back up shortly after. Bassi then started making his way deeper into the building, where he was confronted by another officer. Both exchanged shots. Bassi missed and the second officer hit Bassi in the right leg. As wounded Klarenbeek caught up to the gunman, he fired three rounds towards Bassi. One shot missed. Another entered the back of Bassi’s neck and exited through the front of his face. The third shot struck Bassi in the left part of his back and lodged itself in his abdomen. Bassi immediately collapsed to the floor and was handcuffed.
Aftermath[edit]
Response[edit]
Within minutes of the initial shots, the entire courthouse was in complete lockdown. All court proceedings were stopped, including a mock trial of 40 students from the Peel Region School Board. Officers with guns drawn began searching the building for any threats. At 11:16 a.m., Klarenbeek was rushed into an ambulance with a fellow officer who appeared to be applying pressure to the wounded officer's torso. Due to the officer's condition being labelled as 'critical', he was transported to Sunnybrook Hospital which was under 50 km away. The ambulance was escorted by 10 PRP cars across highway 407. His condition would later be upgraded to stable. By 11:49 a.m., tactical units from Peel Regional Police began to arrive. As officers had secured and held all entrances into the building, 3 canine units had checked the outside perimeter of the building before being led inside the courthouse. In the parking lot, police searched a silver Chrysler Sebring, believed to have belonged to the deceased gunman.
At around 2 p.m., officers had begun interviewing witnesses and taking down their information.
SIU Investigation[edit]
The SIU had assigned 19 investigators and 3 forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of the incident.[3] 8 witness officers and 40 civilian witnesses had been interviewed.
By 10 October 2014, the SIU had concluded it's investigation and the subject officer was cleared of his actions.
Charnjit Bassi[edit]
The motive of the shooting still remains unclear. Bassi never had a history of mental illness, nor was he ever known to be violent or own a firearm his friends and family said. Police records show that over the past 15 years, Bassi had five encounters with the police in the GTA. The offences varied as possessing stolen property, forging credit cards, assault with a dangerous weapon, and drug possession. He was never convicted for any of these offences.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Special Investigations Unit -- News Release". www.siu.on.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
- ↑ "Hero police officer recalls moment he was shot at Brampton courthouse - CityNews Toronto". CityNews Toronto. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
- ↑ "Special Investigations Unit -- News Release". www.siu.on.ca. Retrieved 2018-03-31.
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