Law enforcement looking for shooter following fatal shooting at Pelican Narrows

RCMP are still searching for the individual responsible for the fatal shooting in Pelican Narrows on Monday.

The shooting occurred near the health centre in Pelican Narrows, which is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN), leaving a 28 year-old woman dead and a man seriously injured.

In an update issues Wednesday afternoon, RCMP said the sole suspect in custody has been released without charges. The RCMP currently has no suspects in custody.

Police have since released a surveillance video described as a hooded male, wearing all black, carrying a handgun and cell phone at the time of the shooting. Police are renewing calls to the public to help identify the suspect.

In an update from community leaders on Wednesday, PBCN Chief Peter Beatty said the community has been living in fear since the shooting.

“It’s been very traumatic for the community and our members that live there. A lot of them are in fear, and apprehensive about going anywhere,” said Beatty.

The community has been in a ‘complete lockdown’ since the incident, said Beatty, with local education and administration closed to the public for the week.

“The children are very traumatized, the teachers are very traumatized and very worried because we all we have kids and family members out there,” said councillor for Pelican Narrows Justin Halcrow. “Our community is on high alert.”

Leaders have requested more public safety measures and better communication with law enforcement and government.

In a release from the RCMP, they stated that investigators are constantly reassessing the situation, and there is not believed to be an imminent risk to public safety.

“We know the community of Pelican Narrows is on edge because of this shooting,” Insp. Ashley St. Germaine, acting officer in charge of Saskatchewan’s RCMP Major Crimes Branch, said in a statement.

“Our number one priority right now is the safety of Pelican Narrows residents. Homicides are solved with the help of witnesses. We know there are people in the community who have information and have not shared it with police.”

Chief Beatty said the community has hired an external security team to stop people at the bridge entry-point to Pelican Narrows. He said there is an increased RCMP presence, as well as a tactical team and Saskatchewan Marshals Service in the community.

“Leadership, local council, and myself, and all the people involved in law enforcement are trying as best we can to try to get things back to some state of normalcy,” said Beatty.

These shootings come less than two weeks after another homicide at Pelican Narrows. On May 21, 26 year-old Jaden Custer was killed in what community leaders believe was a drive-by shooting.

And on May 13, the remains of 16 year-old Jay’siiah Webb-Long of Ontario were found in the community, more than a year after he travelled to Saskatchewan and went missing.

“What happened Monday is not who we are,” said Olivia Custer, councillor for Pelican Narrows.

“This is being done to us by organized crime, by addictions, by decades of neglect.”

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the RCMP by calling 310-RCMP or submitting an anonymous tip to Saskatchewan Crime Stoppers online or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS.