Tragedy in Moncton

For those folks who don’t know, I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Halifax is one of those cities that almost qualifies as a town. We are the biggest city in a very small province.

Moncton is in a similar situation – being the biggest city in a likewise small province.

Cities like Halifax and Moncton don’t expect to face the sort of situation that they are facing today.

Since yesterday police officers in Moncton have been on a region-wide manhunt for a shooter who has killed three RCMP officers and seriously wounded two others at last report.

Here’s a photo of him.

It is the kind of situation that you would expect to see in a 1970 grindhouse movie with one man taking a stand against the powers of authority.

Only this isn’t a movie.

This is real life.

Those RCMP he killed and those he wounded are real people who spend their days making sure that society runs the way it ought to. This simple-minded asshole who is playing war really ought to get his head on straight.

Violence does not solve anything.

Whatever he thinks he is accomplishing – he isn’t.

I’m not a news sort of fellow. I generally read the funny pages and do the crossword and maybe the Sudoku if it isn’t too difficult. I try not to read the more serious pages because it just depresses the heck out of me – but this whole situation is terrifying and real.

I’ve just got one thing to say.

It isn’t politically correct.

It isn’t pretty.

What this fellow is doing is a bad thing.

Going around playing war games with real weapons and real people is not a sane thing for anyone to do.

I hope they catch this fellow soon and I hope they put him down hard.

He killed three good men and wounded two others. The way I see it, the time for psychoanalysis is long past.

Stay safe, Moncton.

yours in storytelling,

Steve Vernon