Burnaby RCMP death serves as a reminder of camp dangers
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PRINCE GEORGE – It was a shocking incident. Three-year member of the Burnaby RCMP detachment Constable Shaelyn Yang was fatally stabbed while partnered with a City of Burnaby parks worker and attending a homeless campsite at Broadview Park just before 11 a.m. But every community in BC and across the nation has homeless camps, including Prince George, where there two: Mocassin Flats at the end of Fifth Avenue and Mellennium Park on First Avenue. And many of the residents of the camps are suffering from some form of mental illness and/or addiction.
“They suffer from mental health issues, oftentimes untreated and the vast majority are under the influence of drugs which makes their behaviour often erratic,” says Superintendent Shaun Wright of the local detachment. “Quite often they’re involved in criminal and violent activities.”
Supt Wright says they are frequent visitors to the camps.
