People questioning why alert wasn’t issued after incident near Esterhazy

After a man was killed and a woman was hurt about 20 kilometres south of Stockholm and Esterhazy early Friday, some people are frustrated with police.

People are saying they found out about what happened from family members halfway across the province or from the news when they feel they should have found out what happened from police.

The RCMP still hadn’t released any more information about the incident by Friday afternoon, including the specific reasoning of why a public emergency alert wasn’t issued.

But a spokesperson for the Mounties did say that when evaluating whether to send out an alert, police consider several factors, including whether there’s an imminent risk to the public.

The spokesperson also said that officers continue to investigate and re-evaluate the alert decision.

Willy Kuzub owns the Western Resort campground at Round Lake and he wasn’t at all impressed.

“(There’s a) lot of confusion with everything that’s going on,” he said. “That’s the part I find very frustrating.”

An RCMP vehicle blocks a road in the area of a home invasion near Esterhazy on Feb. 10, 2023. (Shane Clausing/980 CJME)

Kuzub says people in the area are hearing from people thousands of kilometres away instead of getting notices from the RCMP.

“If there’s something going on and a situation within a 100-mile radius or 50-mile radius — whatever the … distance is — why the hell why can’t we hear from police of what’s going on?” said Kuzub, who noted he even went to RCMP detachments to get more information.

“They should be giving us some information to protect ourselves and not hide it from us.”

Meanwhile, 980 CJME’s Shane Clausing was in the community of Bird’s Point on Friday. He spoke to a restaurant owner who closed her business for the day out of safety concerns.

After schools in the area found out what happened, many were put into “hold and secure” mode.

That happens when there’s an external emergency that doesn’t have to do with the school; classes continue inside, but all the doors are locked and monitored.

Macdonald School in Stockholm, PJ Gillen School in Esterhazy, Esterhazy High School and Grayson School in Grayson were all placed in hold and secure, according to the Good Spirit School Division.

The division had a meeting at 2 p.m. to review the situation but, as of Friday morning, it was believed that the incident likely wouldn’t impact student transportation in the afternoon. One bus that serves the Round Lake area was cancelled Friday morning.

Nearby Cowessess First Nation posted to its social media channels that its offices, school and daycare doors were locked and wouldn’t be opened for anyone who can’t be identified, while at the same time saying it is not a lockdown.

Early Friday morning, police said three men broke into a home in a rural area south of Esterhazy, and officers responded just after 4 a.m.

“Initial investigation has determined three males broke into a residence,” the RCMP said in a statement. “An adult male who lived at the residence was located deceased at the scene by police. His death is considered suspicious.”

In an update later Friday, the Mounties confirmed the male victim had been shot.

A woman was also found injured, the RCMP said, and she was taken to hospital for treatment.

Police said the three men stole at least one gun from the home before stealing the homeowner’s vehicle and taking off. That vehicle was found burning and abandoned on a nearby grid road, police said.

The RCMP said no descriptions of the suspects were available, but noted the investigation is still in its early stages.

“We ask the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity or information to police immediately by calling 911 or your local RCMP detachment or police service,” the RCMP said.

— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick