The following is a statement of Corporal Kenneth Hu, age 24, residing at 400 Bur Oak Ave, Markham, Ontario, with reference to the investigation of the death of Sergeant Samson Payens, age 34, married, address 620 Vaughan Mills Road, Vaughan, Ontario and Corporal Dopa Mayan, age 22, address 309 Castlemore Ave, Markham, Ontario.

At approximately 20:24 on November 7th, 2016, unregistered gunfire rang out through the encampment from Sergeant Samson Payens’s tent. It is later confirmed by multiple sources that only two shots were fired from within the tent, which corresponds with the number of bullet holes found. I was the first on the scene, as his tent was neighbouring mine at the time.

Armed with a C8A3 carbine rifle, loaded with a full magazine of 30 5.56-mm x 45-mm ball cartridges, I stumbled upon the scene at 20:25 to find the corpses of my comrades. It is later revealed to me that Sergeant Payens was found with a bullet hole in his right chest, and Corporal Mayan prone on the floor in front of Sergeant Payens’s cot with a bullet hole in his head. Between them, I found one of the children we had liberated from the captivity of the rebels earlier this week holding a Browning 9-mm pistol, with the barrel smoking from the two shots he had already fired.

What happened next is unforgivable on my part. Because of the sense of loss and dread that I felt, seeing someone who made my stay with this company enjoyable during breaks away from conflict, I acted out of rage and emptied my firearm at the child without considering what information he may provide. I would assume after the third bullet struck his body, he was already dead.

After having killed the assailant, I knelt down to Sergeant Payens’ side while calling for medics at the surrounding troops, and did what I could to keep him alive, despite the fatal wound. Chest compressions and covering the wound with his poncho were not making things better, and the blood was everywhere. His focus was never on me, but on the table next to his cot. He kept reaching his hand over to the general direction of the table, but I refused his wishes and kept him prone on the ground while the medics arrived.

It is later revealed that his focus was on the letter he had intended to send to his family regarding his return later this month, and had enclosed in the envelope a photograph of him and the children that were liberated, the assailant among the crowd. It’s not unreasonable to believe that he was hoping to get his message out to his family, giving them a sense of comfort.

Sergeant Payens died at 20:29 as the medics carried him to the tent for emergency surgery. Because of my rash decisions, we could never question the assailant about who he was working for, or whether or not he was who he said he was. At 00:08, I sent the letter Sergeant Payens had intended to send through the mail and submitted my initial statements on the incident to the Commander’s office. He only dismissed me afterward. I have been making arrangements for the funeral and composing a letter to the families of the two fallen comrades ever since until I wrote this report.