Sculptor Morgan MacDonald says Moncton RCMP memorial commission 'an honour'

A sculptor from Newfoundland has been chosen to make statues for an RCMP memorial that was unveiled in Moncton on Thursday.

St. John's native Morgan MacDonald won the competition to supply the bronze statues, which are realistic depictions of the three men that were killed in the tragic shooting in Moncton, New Brunswick one year ago.

RCMP Constables David Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan and Doug Larche were killed by a lone gunman who has been sentenced to 75 years in prison without parole.

• RCMP officers remembered as Moncton marks 1st anniversary of murders 
• Moncton shooting 1 year later: A widow's view of grief, forgiveness 

"It's overwhelming," MacDonald said after the unveiling.

"It's an honour, it's a privilege to be here. Coming from Newfoundland to stand with all of these people here today — I'm really proud."

The memorial honouring the three officers will include statues of the three men in a circle, facing outwards with their backs to a porch light

Macdonald's submission was the only one to include a realistic portrayal of the three fallen officers.

MacDonald said while his realistic style has been used for other important projects, his own personal family connection to the RCMP made this one stand out.

"Where my father was in the RCMP for 15 years, hearing about the events from my perspective it's just one of those stories that really moves you to do something about it, to make it easier for people," he said.

"You put out a proposal, and you hope that people like it, and that's the one that got picked. All I can do is just try and present the kind of work that I do, and that just happens to be realism and figurative types of work."

While the initial design for the statues has already been done, MacDonald says there is another component of the memorial that is still in the works — and will involve contributions from people across the country who want to pay their respects to the sacrifices of the RCMP.

One of the early ideas he has been brainstorming is having people send in their fingerprints, which would be collaged together to form the five leaves on the RCMP's official crest.

"There's two parts to this. There's the RCMP and honouring that sacrifice — but on the other hand it's trying to get the community involved, get them to participate," he said.

"They're going to get to do that, in a very physical way and I think the day that this is unveiled it's going to make it that much more special."