'A fallen hero': Fellow police, loved ones honour RCMP officer Rick O'Brien killed in Coquitlam, B.C.

Loved ones and officers are honouring Ridge Meadows RCMP Const. Rick O'Brien, who was shot dead on Friday while executing a drug-related search warrant at a residence in Coquitlam, B.C.

Two other officers were injured in the shooting at a home near Pinetree Way and Glen Drive, along with a suspect who also had to be hospitalized, in the city of 150,000 about 25 kilometres east of Vancouver.

On Saturday afternoon, B.C.'s prosecution service approved a first-degree murder charge against 25-year-old Coquitlam resident Nicholas Bellemare, as well as one count of attempted murder with a firearm. The RCMP said in a statement officers were at the time executing a warrant "in relation to a drug investigation."

O'Brien, 51, was a decorated constable, who recently celebrated seven years of service, having become a Mountie in 2016. He leaves behind a wife and six children.

According to Jeanette Martin, who knew Rick's wife due to both of them owning businesses in Langley, B.C., the officer was originally from Ottawa and formerly an education assistant.

"His focus in life was always about people and making things better for everyone," she told CBC News.

Martin said that O'Brien worked closely with youth that had mental health struggles, along with a job as a school liaison officer.

"It was just a natural fit from going from the mental health work that that he did," she said. "And that's what his specialty was on the RCMP force was — his mental health work and de-escalating situations with people."

The superintendent in charge of O'Brien's RCMP detachment in Ridge Meadows, B.C., Wendy Mehat, said the constable loved visiting schools and supporting his detachment through drives and sporting events. 

"His death is senseless and heartbreaking," Mehat said Friday. "The loss of Rick will be felt deeply, by his family, his colleagues, and the community."

Condolences from a number of law enforcement officials and agencies have poured in on social media, including federal Justice Minister Arif Virani, the Manitoba Association of Chiefs of Police and Alberta Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis.

O'Brien, who had a wife and six children, worked with at-risk youth before joining the RCMP and spent his entire policing career at the Ridge Meadows, B.C., detachment.

He was decorated for bravery in the rescue of victims during a home invasion within months of joining the RCMP in 2016.

A fundraising campaign organized by the National Police Federation Benevolent Foundation for O'Brien's family had raised more than $55,000 by Saturday afternoon, surpassing the foundation's original goal on the platform GoFundMe.