P.A. police chief addresses Saturday homicides in statement

Prince Albert’s police chief is reassuring the community after a violent weekend that led to the death of two men.

On Saturday around 5:30 a.m., police responded to a report and found a man shot at the 1000 block of Eighth Street East. A 32-year-old man was taken to the Victoria Hospital by ambulance, where he died from his injuries.

The second death happened around River Street West near the Diefenbaker Bridge.

Just before 11:30 p.m., police responded to a weapons complaint. A 47-year-old man suffering from serious injuries died in hospital.

River Street was blocked off after a 47-year-old man was found fatally injured.
(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

In response to the homicides, Prince Albert Police Chief Jonathan Bergen released a statement to offer his condolences to the victims of the violence, and to provide more information on what police are doing.

“These two incidents are under investigation and our police service has redeployed officers to assist with these files, or assist Patrol in responding to calls for service from other areas of our community,” Bergen said in his statement.

“The trauma and pain that results from violence weighs heavily on all members of our police service, and I want to acknowledge the compassionate and diligent efforts of our front-line officers in responding to and investigating these incidents of violence.”

Bergen also addressed some of the community’s recent struggles.

“We know that our community is struggling with an increase in weapons violence, addictions, poverty, mental health concerns, and calls related to inter-personal violence. As a police service, we benefit from the work of our partner agencies to support vulnerable residents and families and connect them with programming and interventions,” Bergen said.

“We continue to support numerous community-based initiatives and are part of discussions around prevention, early intervention, and awareness, and we continue to promote healthy lifestyles for all residents in our community.”

The full statement is here.