Dressed in red serge, more than a dozen RCMP officers took part in a ceremony Friday, April 24 to honour fallen Nova Scotia RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson and all victims of the April 18 and 19 mass shooting.
“It’s sad. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in Canada,” said Kaitlin Lebrun, a member of the Central Cariboo Search and Rescue, who wiped away tears as she watched officers perform a ceremony outside the detachment.
Lebrun went on a youth exchange on the Navy ship HMCS Montreal and worked with the military for one month in August 2017. She was emotional over the loss of life of so many innocent victims, and reminded of the sacrifice of all RCMP, many of whom she works with on CCSAR calls.
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“We laid flowers Monday (outside the detachment for officers),” Lebrun said. “They put their lives at risk every day and we are very thankful for them.”
Williams Lake RCMP Staff Sgt. Del Byron said the event that occurred in Nova Scotia was an extreme tragedy and his sincere condolences go out to the families of those who lost loved ones or had family or friends injured.
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“Many came forward in a time of chaos and terror to help their fellow family members, friends and members of the community. As a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police I am proud of those who came to the aid of others. I would like to also add that the selfless actions taken by Const. Stevenson and Const. Morrison were true acts of bravery in a time where so much chaos and danger was present,” Byron said.
“Moments such as this make me so proud of our team in Williams Lake as well as I know all at this detachment if put in the same situation would do all they could to protect their community.”
Byron encourages anyone that may be having a tough time dealing with this event to seek assistance from those that are trained to help.
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