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Police in Nova Scotia say a man is in custody after the force issued an emergency alert warning people in the Colchester County community of Bible Hill to shelter in place as a “dangerous man with a firearm” was allegedly seen on foot in the area.
People living in the areas of Colchester, Cumberland, East Hants, and Pictou County were told by RCMP to seek immediate shelter and lock their doors and windows at around 9 a.m. Friday.
In a social media post, RCMP in Nova Scotia advised residents to shelter-in-place as officers respond in the area of Hillcrest Ave.
“Alert imminent. The streets surrounding Hillcrest Ave. are closed to allow officers to do their work. Please avoid,” the statement from police read.
At around 9:20 a.m., the RCMP issued a follow-up post to social media saying the suspect was now in custody.
The incident comes on the four-year anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in Canadian history.
On April 18-19, 2020, a gunman — at times disguised as an RCMP officer — murdered 22 people in Nova Scotia during a rampage that began in the Colchester County community of Portapique. The victims included a pregnant woman and an RCMP officer.
On Thursday, Colchester County Mayor Christine Blair said that her community has struggled to deal with the trauma of the event.
“We are suffering,” Blair said, noting that mental health resources are still difficult to access in the area. “It’s huge here, and it has affected everyone.”
“There’s more violence, there’s more anger, there’s more lack of patience, intimate partner violence — lots of things that have accelerated because people are traumatized and they don’t understand what they’re actually going through, what they’re experiencing because of the trauma.”
The Mass Casualty Commission, which investigated the killings and released a wide-ranging report last year, made a number of recommendations around improving mental health access in the province.
Among those recommendations was a call for the federal and provincial governments to “jointly fund a program to address the public health emergency that exists in Colchester, Cumberland, and Hants counties as a result of an unmet need for mental health, grief, and bereavement supports arising from the April 2020 mass casualty.”
Bair said some mental health support arrived following the tragedy, but those resources weren’t permanent.
“Continuous help was needed. We need to have something there all the time,” she said.
On Thursday, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston told reporters that the province has committed almost $9 million over two years, as part of an $18-million initiative to design and deliver mental health, grief and bereavement services in Cumberland, Colchester and Hants counties.
“Our commitment is there, our focus is there. There’s more to be done, there’s no question about that, but we’re committed to getting it done,” Houston said.
— with files from Alex Cooke
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