On July 22, 2006, a riot occurred in the village of Grand Manan, New Brunswick, Canada. The incident of civil disorder occurred because of allegations from members of the community that Ronald Ross, who lived in the village, was dealing drugs, including crack cocaine, from his house. This led to tensions between Ross and community members that peaked early in the morning of July 22, when a group of several dozen people engaged in a physical altercation with him and several of his houseguests. The disorder, which saw several gunshots fired and Ross's house being destroyed in an act of arson, resulted in several injuries and multiple arrests.
Overview
In early 2006, Ross was the subject of rumours on the island which alleged that he was selling illegal drugs from his house. Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigated him but did not find evidence of drug dealing. Despite this, tensions increased and, over Canada Day weekend, a vehicle belonging to his friend Terry Irvine—who was also alleged to be involved in criminal activities—was destroyed by fire. This prompted rumours that Ross and Irvine were planning an act of retribution against the community.
On the night of July 21, about 40 people gathered in the front yard of Carter Foster, who lived across the street from Ross. At the same time, a group of less than a dozen people were at Ross's house. Shortly after midnight, the two sides confronted each other in an altercation that eventually led to a shootout and an attempted arson of Ross's house. Several hours later, Ross's house was burned down, with firefighters hindered in their firefighting efforts by some community members. Police made several arrests following the incident and eventually charged five men, including Foster, with various crimes stemming from the riot; the five were later dubbed by media as the "Grand Manan Five". Four people, including Foster, were found guilty and given sentences that did not include any jail time. Meanwhile, Ross was found guilty of a weapons possession charge and sentenced to time served for a previous stint of house arrest.
The riot received widespread media coverage, especially in Canada. On Grand Manan, the incident led to a greater awareness of the village's drug problem and prompted greater investment into activities for the local youth, including the creation of a recreation centre. Additionally, per the village's mayor, relations between the community and the RCMP, which had soured due to the village's drug problems and the police's response to the riot, improved over the following years.
Background
Grand Manan in the early 2000s
Grand Manan is an island in the Bay of Fundy that is part of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, located about from the province's mainland. In 2006, the island had a population of about 3,000 and its economy was dominated by the aquaculture and fishing industries, with CBC News calling Grand Manan "a quiet fishing community near the Maine border". Its population fluctuates in the summer season with an increase in seasonal residents and tourists. At the time, the island had a detachment of four Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers stationed there, consisting of a corporal and three constables.
By the early 2000s, there was a growing concern among residents and local officials on the island about the presence of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine, ecstasy, and prescription painkillers such as Dilaudid and OxyContin. By 2006, these concerns about drug use, as well as alcohol use, had been exacerbated by the deaths of several young men on the island. In July of that year, Sergeant Greg MacAvoy of the RCMP's regional headquarters in nearby St. George stated that there had been an increase in criminal activity on the island that appeared to be caused by drug activity. This coincided with a downturn in the economy following a boom period in the 1990s, with the aquaculture industry facing issues regarding diseases and a sardine plant on the island having closed down. Additionally, mid-2006 saw an increase in missing property on the island, particularly of power tools. According to James McAvity, a regional crown prosecutor for New Brunswick, Grand Manan had conditions that could contribute to a serious drug problem.
Allegations of drug dealing in the Castalia community In 2006, there were rumours on the island that drugs, including crack cocaine, were being sold from a house on the island that belonged to Ronald Ross. Ross was a 41-year-old man who had come to the island from Saint John. He had been living in the house, located in the community of Castalia, for about two years at that point. He was originally from Nova Scotia and had worked for some time on the island in the lobster fishing industry. The house was located next to several other houses at 61 Cedar Street, off of New Brunswick Route 776. Over the previous several months, tensions had increased between Ross and his neighbours, with other residents of the community noting that he often hosted unruly parties and often played loud music throughout the day. Additionally, one neighbour reported an incident where Ross had smashed all of the windows of his girlfriend's car, which was parked in his driveway, with a piece of lumber. Eventually, community concern led to a school-bus stop located near his house to be moved elsewhere to prevent children from having to walk past the building. Of particular concern to the community were rumours that Ross was selling crack cocaine to schoolchildren.
One of the RCMP officers on the island conducted several hours of surveillance on Ross's house from nearby houses and had executed a search warrant on his premises, though the officer did not find evidence that could lead to a criminal charge. Meanwhile, community members began to conduct their own activities in an attempt to monitor Ross's actions. A vigil in front of his house was planned by several local mothers, though it was ultimately called off out of fear of several dogs that Ross had. Additionally, according to journalist Calvin Trillin, someone set up a sign at the intersection of Cedar Street and Route 776 warning motorists "that they were about to drive down a block that held a crack house". Concerning Ross's response to the actions, Trillin quoted an unnamed councillor for Grand Manan's local government, who said, "People on the wrong side of the law usually keep a low profile. ... He made himself out to be this big-time gangster."
Vehicle-burning and escalating tensions In addition to allegations of drug dealing, some community members believed that Ross was involved in theft. Particularly, they believed that some of Ross's visitors had been responsible for some of the missing property reported around that time and that Ross was accepting stolen goods as payment for drugs. They accused a regular visitor of Ross's, Terry Irvine, of transporting stolen goods off of the island with his GMC Jimmy and using the vehicle to bring drugs onto the island. Over the 2006 Canada Day weekend, the Jimmy, which was parked in Ross's driveway, was destroyed by fire.
Following the burning, Ross accused a neighbor, Carter Foster, and other community residents of intentionally burning the vehicle. Foster informed Ross that he had been off of the island at the time of the incident, though Ross remained adamant and threatened Foster and his live-in girlfriend, Sarah Wormell. Later that evening, Ross lit a fire in his front yard with several wooden pallets and put propane tanks on top of the flames, with Foster saying that he was threatening to blow up the neighbourhood. An RCMP constable extinguished the fire, during which time Ross told him that at an earlier community meeting some of the other residents had decided to burn down his house. In later testimony, Ross said that he had stopped a man in some woods located behind his house who he feared was going to burn his house down. Additionally, Ross said that, prior to the vehicle-burning, a propane tank had been thrown through one of his house's windows.
In the weeks following Canada Day weekend, rumours began to circulate around the community about possible retribution against the community from Ross and people with him. There were rumours that Ross was planning to have a group of people come to Grand Manan with weapons, including dynamite and machine guns, and burn down several houses, including Foster's. In later testimony to the RCMP, a volunteer firefighter on Grand Manan stated that he had heard that Ross was planning to bring some members of Hells Angels to the island. Eventually, the rumours pinned the exact date of this supposed retribution to July 21, with the group of people involved growing to twenty.
Course of the event
Crowd confrontation On the night of Friday, July 21, a group of about 40 people, consisting mostly of local fishermen, began to gather in Foster's front yard. Meanwhile, a group of less than a dozen men were present at Ross's house, located across the street. People in both groups had engaged in drinking that night. Shortly after midnight, RCMP Constable Gerald Bigger came to the house and informed the crowd that the rumours about the group of individuals coming to the island to cause disorder were untrue and that Irvine's new vehicle, a GMC Yukon, had been searched by the RCMP earlier that day after he came onto the island. However, the crowd remained at Foster's property, with Wormell saying that she was afraid that his house would be burned down. Speaking later of the incident, MacAvoy stated that he believed alcohol had been involved. Soon after midnight, several men came out of Ross's house, with some individuals from Foster's crowd moving onto Cedar Street to confront them. Individuals in both groups had weapons, with several people in Foster's group wielding baseball bats—some of the men had participated in a baseball game earlier that day—and at least one person in Ross's group having a knife attached to the end of a pole. Foster yelled at Ross, saying, "You’re going to fucking get off the island!" before the two of them engaged in a physical altercation.
Shootout and arson Foster had Ross in a chokehold when multiple gunshots were heard coming from Ross's house, prompting Foster to let go. Foster then went back to his house, retrieved his sniper rifle, and climbed atop his roof. In later testimony, Foster said that some members of the crowd had told him to shoot at whoever had fired the initial shots, but Foster said he could not bring himself to fire at a person and instead fired at the Yukon and at the light on Ross's front porch. Speaking later to the RCMP, Foster said he shot at the vehicle "to disable it for our own protection, so they wouldn’t take off and get out of there". At the same time that this was occurring, several people in Foster's crowd began to fire flare guns, with Ross getting hit in the leg by a flare. The shootout lasted for about 5 to 10 minutes and had stopped by the time that three RCMP officers had arrived at the scene.
However, following the officers' arrival, fighting continued, with Irvine and Ross suffering injuries. Meanwhile, a group of young men from Foster's side had doused the rear of Ross's house with fuel and set it on fire, prompting the people in the house to flee out the front door. The fire department was notified at about 12:35 a.m., with volunteer firefighters arriving shortly thereafter. They reported hearing cheers from the crowd of "Let it burn!" and "Off the island!". Additionally, some rocks were thrown towards the firefighters, who eventually succeeded in putting out the fire and returned to their fire station. Ross and several other people on his side were eventually escorted by the RCMP away from the site. According to CBC News, RCMP officers made one arrest. Four men suffered injuries from beating, while several other individuals suffered minor injuries.