Fatal shooting by police shocks town
SIRT-NL investigating incident involving RCMP in Grand Falls-windsor
The residents of a quiet Grand Falls-windsor street woke up Friday to find a pair of police cars stationed in front of a home on the street and yellow police tape across the front door.
Just hours earlier, there had been a shooting involving members of the Grand Falls-windsor RCMP at 27 Monchy Rd. A police officer had fatally shot someone in the home.
The matter remains under investigation and the exact details of what happened are still not known.
Maureen Pynn, who lives on Monchy Road, said she wasn’t aware of the incident until she saw a post about the shooting on social media.
Pynn said she doesn’t know who lives at the home, and she can’t remember this sort of thing happening in the town before.
“We’re not used to this,” she said.
On Friday morning, the Serious Incident Response Team of Newfoundland and Labrador (SIRT-NL) stated that the group had been notified of a fatal shooting involving an RCMP officer in Grand Falls-windsor.
SIRT-NL director Mike King advised the public that the group will conduct an independent investigation into the incident. It is a typical step when there is an officerinvolved death.
The shooting has shocked the central Newfoundland community, and has generated plenty of interest on social media. Some offer condolences to the family of the person killed by police, while others offer those same condolences to the officers.
More often than not, though, people were surprised to hear of a shooting in town.
Resident Elmo Hewlett was getting his morning coffee ready when his daughter informed him that someone had been shot earlier that day.
It isn’t something he expected to happen in his community, he said.
“Shocked. That’s what everyone is feeling,” Hewlett said.
The RCMP declined to comment on the situation, saying it is not policy to do so while there is an investigation being done by SIRT-NL.
Grand Falls-windsor Mayor Barry Manuel was alerted to the incident by a text message from a member of the town’s staff.
After that, the morning was spent gathering information from the police. The town then decided to shut down access to Monchy Road to cut down on the heavy traffic that flocked the area in the wake of the news.
“It is definitely a tragic event, and shocking,” said Manuel. “We’ve been assured by the RCMP that this is a contained event and there is no threat to the community.”
The mayor said the incident has the town reeling and it’s been the topic of conversation around town since the news broke.
Outside of a homicide in town almost a decade ago, it isn’t something that happens in Grand Falls-windsor, he said.
“It is not something that we’re used to,” said Manuel. “It is not a typical experience at all in this town, and it is really hard to hear about.”
He offered his condolences to the family of the deceased and the others involved in the incident, including the officers.
“It is just a tragic event and I feel for everyone that is involved,” said Manuel.
An update on SIRT-NL’S investigation will be provided when it has been concluded, King said.