Indigenous man killed by RCMP remembered as a 'lovable' nephew and father

As Doreen alice paul scrolls through and through photos on her sound, Bronson Paul's lifespan flashes by.

From baptism to paternity, he is seen alone in just one of the pictures — his school photo.

In all the others, Bronson is surrounded by his children, his family, his friends. He is smiling.

“This is his family. These are the cousins, the boys, my dad, and those are the grandchildren there, and the whole family, me and him,” Paul said as she described each one.

As Bronson's aunt and godmother, Paul said she helped raise him.

“He was a funny guy, he was lovable. Everybody loved him,” she said, adding that he was a Boston Bruins fan who was “awful clumsy as a little boy, he would always hit his head.”

Paul said she was home on Sunday evening when her daughter called to tell her that Bronson had been shot in his home in Neqotkuk First Nation by an RCMP officer.

The Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the shooting. According to a release, RCMP were called to a residence regarding a domestic disturbance and arrived to find a man “in possession of a weapon.” The release stated that a taser was used on the man with no effect, and another officer shot the man.

“I hyperventilated, I was on the bed, I couldn’t move, I screamed. I was totally devastated,” Paul said. 

She said she called the hospital in Grand Falls for more information. A nurse told her over the phone that they had not been able to save Bronson’s life.

“I want to say to the RCMP, what gives them the right to come onto our reservations, our communities, and shoot our people?” Paul said.

“Indigenous lives matter too. We have family that love us, we’re mothers, we’re fathers, we’re sisters, we’re grandmothers, we’re cousins, we’re all that. And it has to stop.”

On Monday, she and her sister drove to the community, and Paul said she broke down again. Paul described seeing her nephew’s blood in the snow in the yard.

Bronson’s partner told Paul that she and their children, seven and eight years old, had been home and witnessed the shooting.

“You know the trauma that they’re going to have to live the rest of their lives?” Paul said.

Paul said she’s “angry at the system,” and questioned why her nephew was shot in a confrontation with police, but Justin Bourque, who is white, was taken into custody alive after killing three RCMP officers in Moncton in 2014. 

“They got him, and they detained him, but here they don’t detain. They decide just to shoot us. And that’s not right,” Paul said.

She said that she has received lots of support after returning to Neqotkuk, also known as Tobique First Nation. 

“I love my community, we’re a really close-knit community. We love each other, we support each other,” Paul said.

Some of the support on Monday came from Martha Martin, who embraced Paul when she arrived.

Martin’s daughter, Chantel Moore, was shot and killed by police in Edmundston in 2020. The officer involved in her death did not face criminal charges.

“It’s horrific to think, again, we’re experiencing the loss of another Indigenous person at the hands of law enforcement. We’re in 2026, and nothing’s changed,” Moore said.

“It’s horrific news to hear, especially in a nation, a community, that’s shown so much love, so much passion,” she said, adding that women from Neqotkuk had come to comfort her after her daughter was killed.

“Coming up here to show love and support, there’s nowhere else I would be.”

Martin said she felt heaviness as she got to Neqotkuk, and said it was a reminder of the importance of continuing to advocate against what she called police brutality.

“It’s time for our leaders to step up and make changes, because we can’t keep losing Indigenous people,” she said.

Journalist

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