MONCTON, N.B. - A funeral procession for the three Mounties killed in the line of duty wound its way through Moncton on Tuesday with pipers and drummers leading the mourners including police officers from across Canada and the United States.
Four RCMP officers on horseback followed the 1.6-kilometre-long procession, leading three hearses carrying the bodies of constables Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Douglas James Larche and Dave Joseph Ross.
Members of the RCMP and municipal police forces, as well as correctional officers and U.S. border patrol officers were among those who marched in unison on their way to the funeral service at the Moncton Coliseum, an old hockey arena that can hold about 7,000 people. An estimated 2,700 officers took part in the procession.
As RCMP officers arrived inside the coliseum, people inside stood, applauding for at least half an hour. In front of a stage were three large portraits of the dead officers, each in their dress uniform. There were also three Canadian flags on the left and right sides of the stage, which is a raised platform on the concrete surface of an ice rink.
Public transit buses picked up officers in advance of the televised service, where Mayor George LeBlanc says between 5,000 and 7,000 officers were expected.
Brenda Jaillet of Oromocto, N.B., said the shooting deaths have touched her husband, a retired RCMP officer.
"It's a brotherhood," Jaillet said outside the Moncton Coliseum. "What has affected these three members has affected him. It could have been him at any time during his career."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will speak at the service, and Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and Gov.-Gen. David Johnston are also scheduled to attend.
So many people were expected that six other sites in Moncton and four more outside the city have been set up where mourners can gather. A public visitation service held Monday drew hundreds of people.
Gevaudan, Larche and Ross were gunned down Wednesday evening after responding to a report of a man with firearms in a residential neighbourhood in the northwest area of Moncton.
Two other officers - constables Eric Dubois and Darlene Goguen - were wounded and released from hospital.
The shootings and the ensuing 30-hour manhunt for the alleged killer brought the city to a standstill until an arrest was made just after midnight Friday.
Gevaudan, 45, originally of the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt, was remembered in his obituary as an advocate of women's rights who adored his wife and "Twin Flame" Angela, and stepdaughter Emma.
The obituary for Larche, 40, of Saint John, N.B., says he died while working as a plainclothes officer who "without fear or hesitation ran towards danger to protect his community and family." He leaves behind his wife Nadine and three daughters, Alexa, Laura and Mia.
Ross's obituary says the 32-year-old dog handler died doing what he loved. He is survived by his wife Rachael and son Austin, with another child expected in the fall.
LeBlanc said the officers' families have suffered an unimaginable loss. Moncton, too, will need time to recover, he said.
"I hope that (the funeral) will be a step toward a journey of healing for the community," he said.
Justin Bourque, 24, of Moncton is facing three charges of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He is scheduled to be in provincial court July 3.
