Shooter Caught and In Custody

In the very early hours of this morning, the gunman was located and taken into custody. The arrest was made without weapons being fired and we are all grateful there was no further injury or loss of life.

For most of us life will gradually return to normal now. It will take time for us to regain a feeling of safety and security in our little city, and maybe we'll never quite get back to where we were. We may be a little more careful about locking our doors and walking in dark places at night. It will be a longer process for families and especially children who were in the lockdown zone and had to stay in basement bathrooms and closets and couldn't leave their houses for 28 hours. Those children will need help feeling safe in their own backyards again. It will take a while to forget the sight of armoured vehicles and guns outside their homes. But in time they too will return to normal, going to school and playing in those same yards and streets with their friends.

But for the Officers of the RCMP in our community, there will be no returning to normal. Two are recovering from serious injuries. Three of them are gone, and are never coming back. Their spouses, their children, their parents, siblings and co-workers will have to live with the loss for the rest of their lives. It still amazes me to think that each one of them knew the risks when they signed up and still, they signed up willingly. They wanted to serve and protect the rest of us. How can any of us possibly say "thank-you" for such a sacrifice? Our words won't change the tragedy that has come to their families. We can only hope that in time some bit of comfort or encouragement will come from knowing that so many are so grateful.

Thank you to all the RCMP officers from our own community and those who came in to help from other places. Thank you to their families for giving them the freedom to serve and protect, even knowing the risk. God bless you all with peace and comfort in this terrible time and may He lead you though the dark days ahead into a new normal that will allow you, in time, to live again.