"We're not going to rest" - Mayor of Dawson Creek responds to increase in gun violence in the past month

DAWSON CREEK -- The Mayor of Dawson Creek responded to the recent spate of gun violence in the city over the past few weeks.

Darcy Dober said, “We are deeply concerned about the escalation of gun violence in our community, and our citizens have been expressing their fear and frustration towards the emerging street crime that is taking place.’

Starting on Tuesday evening, Dawson Creek RCMP responded to 3 separate instances of shots being fired in a 14 hour period.

“We are concerned for our RCMP members and the safety of our community, and we will not accept this as a new normal,” said Dober.

According to the RCMP the majority of the serious crime that has occurred lately in Dawson Creek is either drug or gang related.  

Dober suggests that recent criminal events, search warrants being executed and a number of arrests made lately by the local RCMP may have resulted in bringing more issues to the surface.

Over the next days, residents will notice an increase in police officers on the streets of Dawson Creek.

Dawson Creek RCMP are calling in support units from other parts of British Columbia to help assist. The Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team will be arriving to help investigators.

The RCMP will be taking a three-tiered approach of prevention, intervention and suppression, and other support units from around the province have also been called upon to assist.

“I am behind our RCMP 100 percent. I believe in them. I believe they are doing the best they can and doing everything in their power right now,” said Dober.

Dober said the local RCMP detachment is responding quickly to calls and the city is working with the North District Division of the BC RCMP to provide more resources.

“We, as a city, are not being quiet about these issues,” said Dober. "It's not what any of us want to see. We're not going to rest. We want it dealt with."

The mayor said the city has reached out to MLA Mike Bernier and MP Bob Zimmer to ensure that the problem is being dealt with by all three levels of government.

Investigations into recent incidents are ongoing, and police encourage anyone with information to contact the Dawson Creek RCMP at (250) 784-3700, 9-1-1, or Crime Stoppers 1 800 222-8477.