Wife of attack victim speaks out as Mount Pearl forum tackles recent teen violence
More than 200 residents attend meeting; better policing called for
More than 200 Mount Pearl residents attended a public meeting Tuesday night to address violent crime in the city, following a string of random attacks that resulted in seven teenagers in the community being arrested.
Around two dozen people walked up to a microphone in the middle of the packed Reid Community Centre gymnasium to speak candidly with city politicians, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers and others.
Many who spoke shared impassioned anecdotes about feeling unsafe in the city they call home, calling on politicians, police officers and each other to better address violent crime in the city.
Every resident who spoke received a loud applause from the audience, but one person's story was met with a standing ovation.
Bailey Rempel's husband was one of the victims of the attacks that occurred late last month. She said her husband was attacked with a baseball bat by a group of teenagers as he was picking up his children from school at Morris Academy.
"You've heard what happened, but there are things that don't make it into the headlines," said Rempel.
"Like how I had to go down to the school multiple times to calm my kids the day that they went back. Like how they haven't been back to after-school care, and they haven't been back to Girl Guides."
Rempel said she arrived at the scene of the crime far before RNC officers, who she said arrived within 20 minutes.
Rempel told the room an RNC officer was dismissive about finding the perpetrators. Soon after, she said another victim was attacked by the same group of teenagers in the same vicinity as Rempel's husband.
She called on government officials, the RNC and other public groups to work together to prevent similar violent attacks from occurring in the future.
"The youth offenders' lives matter. The victims' lives matter. And the future of this community matters," Rempel concluded.
Police have said two back-to-back attacks, including the one on Rempel's husband, were random.
Disappointment in RNC, government
The City of Mount Pearl invited residents to discuss their concerns at a public meeting following three separate violent attacks that resulted in the RNC charging seven teenagers, aged 13 to 16.
The teenagers are facing a range of individual charges, including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
"This has shaken our community," said Mount Pearl Coun. Isabelle Fry, who helped moderate the meeting. "This is not Mount Pearl."
Fry called on RNC Chief Pat Roche to give residents a summary of the violent incidents and to explain what the RNC's expectations are as the investigation concludes. Roche explained to residents that children are tried differently than adults, and that he cannot discuss specifics about the incidents because the matter is before the courts.
When Roche turned to Fry and asked if he had answered her question, many audience members chimed in and exclaimed, "no."
While some residents thanked the RNC for their work in addressing the violent attacks, others took to the microphone to say that the police aren't doing enough to proactively reduce crime in the city, whether that be due to a lack of resources or other challenges.
Trent Langdon, president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association, said he attended the public meeting as a concerned Mount Pearl resident. He said he was disappointed that provincial Justice Minister Bernard Davis wasn't in attendance.
"This event rocked the province," he said. "This is not just a municipal event."
Paul Lane, the Independent MHA for Mount Pearl-Southlands, told reporters after the event that he too was disappointed that Davis wasn't at the meeting.
He said he's recently called on the provincial government in the House of Assembly to provide more policing resources for the northeast Avalon Peninsula, among other demands to help curb violent crime in the province.
City to release report
Residents offered many solutions to help prevent violent attacks. Some called on the community to connect more with one another, and to build stronger connections with youth.
Members of Mount Pearl's Citizens' Crime Prevention Committee were also in attendance, and they asked for more people to join the group.
Others called on parents to take a more active role in their children's lives, and for more resources to be allocated to policing in the community.
Mount Pearl Mayor Dave Aker says the city is compiling the suggestions from the public meeting into a report, which he says will be released in January.
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