Court reduces prison sentence for man who fired multiple shots into B.C. RCMP detachment

A man who fired at least 19 gunshots at an RCMP detachment in northern British Columbia, narrowly missing officers inside, has won a reduced prison sentence from the province's highest court, which ruled the sentencing judge failed to fully weigh the man's mental illness at the time.

A man who fired at least 19 gunshots at an RCMP detachment in northern British Columbia, narrowly missing officers inside, has won a reduced prison sentence from the province's highest court, which ruled the sentencing judge failed to fully weigh the man's mental illness at the time.

Paul Nicholas Russell was convicted last summer of firearms offences and fleeing from police, but was acquitted of attempted murder, in relation to the November 2021 shooting at the Vanderhoof police station.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with credit for time he had already served in custody since his arrest. But on Tuesday, the B.C. Court of Appeal cut that sentence down to five years.

The incident triggered a community-wide lockdown as rifle bullets tore through the detachment and struck several vehicles in the parking lot in what Mounties later described as "fluid mayhem."

An emergency alert was sent to cellphones in the community, advising residents to shelter in place, and other RCMP detachments in the surrounding area were put on notice as the 36-year-old gunman, wearing a fedora and mirrored aviator sunglasses, took up several firing positions from his pickup truck, according to court records.

The shooting lasted for several minutes shortly after noon on Nov. 25, 2021. It ended just as abruptly when Russell drove away, leading police on a pursuit down Vanderhoof's main street and colliding with an RCMP vehicle that had arrived to assist from Prince George, approximately 100 kilometres away.

Russell was found not guilty of attempted murder as the judge concluded that she could not rule beyond a reasonable doubt that he intended to kill one or more people when he fired his rifle into the windows and vehicles of the police detachment.