Attempted murder charge laid in Fredericton shooting

A 37-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting in Fredericton early Tuesday morning.

Benjamin Nason appeared in Fredericton provincial court on Wednesday afternoon, but has not yet entered plea.

He has been remanded in custody. A bail hearing has been scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m.

A 40-year-old Fredericton woman, who was shotoutside her Lincoln Heights home andthen fled to a neighbour's homefor help, remains in intensive care after undergoing surgery. Fredericton police said she is in stable condition.

Officersresponded to a call of gun shots being fired in the Fredericton neighbourhoodat about 2 a.m. on Tuesday, when they found the woman suffering from a single gunshot wound to her upper body.

The male suspect fled to a home in Beaver Dam, about 20 minutes away from the shooting scene,where a 14-hour standoff with the RCMP unfolded.

He was arrested without incident when he surrendered to police outside the home, said Const. Danielle Carmichael.

The victim and suspect knew each other, but were not a couple, Carmichael said.

"There was a relationship there, but we're still investigating what the nature of that relationship was," she said.

Police do not believe any children or other family members were involved, Carmichael said.

'Complex' investigation

She said Fredericton Police officers prepared and executed several search warrants overnight.

Carmichael said the police are still in the "very early stages in the investigation," which she described as "complex."

"The initial contact was made inside a residence. The female then fled the residence, where she was shot outside and then managed to make it to a neighbouring residence," she said.

"So were dealing with several areas where our forensic identification team attended yesterday and were still trying to gather those pieces of evidence and put it all together."

Carmichael could not comment on whether the case is linked to a fire in the area earlier in the week.

"I can confirm that there is an arson investigation ongoing, but I cant confirm at this time whether the parties involved in that investigation are the same parties involved in this," she said.