La Loche begins to heal after shooting

While the community of La Loche grieves for four lives lost after shootings on Friday, seven others remain in hospital.

STARS Air Ambulance flew out one of the patients Friday night, and three remain in the La Loche Health Centre until the weather improves enough to fly them to Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon, as well. Three patients were airlifted to Saskatoon by the Saskatchewan Air Ambulance.

“It’s a significant event for Canada. My understanding from going through the information I read this morning that there has never been a school shooting of this magnitude in the country,” said RCMP Superintendent Grant St. Germaine to media during a scrum in La Loche.

“It’s a huge impact for the community of La Loche.”

He explained the events as they unfolded in La Loche on Friday afternoon. Just after 1 p.m. RCMP received a call about someone with a gun at the La Loche Community School’s Dene High School, where about 150 students and staff were in class. The officers arrived between 1:08 p.m. and 1:10 p.m. and the 17-year-old alleged shooter was arrested by 1:15 p.m.

In the meantime, the school initiated their lockdown procedures. Shortly after, the RCMP became aware of a second crime scene in the 300-block of Dene Crescent.

Both the school and the residence remain in police hands Saturday. The 17-year-old has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of attempted murder and unauthorized possession of a firearm. He cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

The four killed in this tragedy are 17-year-old and 13-year-old brothers, Danye and Drayden Fontaine, who were killed in the home on Dene Crescent, teacher Adam Wood, 35, and teacher’s aid Marie Janvier, 21, who died at the school.

Premier Brad Wall plans to travel north to La Loche to meet with community leaders and the RCMP over the weekend.

He spoke to media about the disbelief he felt when he heard what had happened.

“To have the lives and the futures of these students and staff cut short by this unspeakably horribly event is really, simply unimaginable,” he said.

“It’s obviously for us in Saskatchewan, it’s very much hard to believe and surreal.”

The mayor of La Loche spoke of hearing from Wall, Prime Minister Trudeau and other leaders and thanked them for their support. Kevin Janiver said the community is taking steps to heal already.

“Every individual in La Loche has been wounded by this event. These emotional and mental wounds will take years to heal,” he said.

“With the help from provincial and federal agencies we will make sure the proper steps will be taken to ensure that as a community we move forward in the spirit of healing.”

Janvier also clarified that there it was not his daughter, that was killed at the school, but that there are two Kevin Janivers in La Loche.

He said that as they move forward they will be doing so in an effort to heal as a community together.