All four killings happened at private homes in Prince George between February 4 and April 1
The RCMP are looking into the fourth murder in less than two months in Prince George, a city in northern British Columbia about 500 km north of Vancouver.
Cpl. Jennifer Cooper of the RCMP says that all four deaths are “related to the drug subculture in Prince George.”
She said that even though the violence has been aimed at people who sell drugs, it is also a threat to the safety of the public.
“We’re telling the public that the people who did these crimes are violent and don’t care at all about public safety.”
Man found dead in hom
The most recent event happened on April 1 at about 8:30 p.m. PT.
A man was found dead in a house in the 2200 block of Quince Street, according to the police.
On April 4, the RCMP gave details about the death and said that another death in the city that had been called “suspicious” is also being looked into as a murder.
On March 7, a man’s body was found in front of a high-rise apartment building, which was less than 500 meters from city hall.
The next day, there were bloodstains in the parking lot and on a glass door, so people had to walk through the crime scene to get out of the building.
Police wouldn’t say anything about the death or how they were looking into it. CBC News asked for information several times over the course of a few weeks, but no more details were given until Tuesday, when they confirmed it was a murder.
A woman was killed in a small yellow house just a few doors away from the popular Lheidli T’enneh Park, and another woman was found dead in a mobile home on an icy street. Both events took place in February.
The RCMP said on February 16 that they had arrested a woman and charged her with second-degree murder in the death of the woman at the mobile home.
The RCMP said at the time that they were still looking for “other suspects” who might have something to do with the case.
Last year, a similar warning was sent out
After three targeted killings by the end of March, the RCMP in Prince George sent out a similar warning about gang violence in the city that was linked to the drug trade. This was almost exactly a year ago.
By the end of 2022, the public knew about six homicides: three targeted shootings on Jan. 25, March 12, and March 27, a fatal stabbing on June 28, a shooting on Nov. 14, and a sixth homicide about which the RCMP won’t say much.
Statistics Canada says that since 1998, this makes 2022 the second-deadliest year in the city, tied with 2021 and just ahead of 2010, when seven people were killed.
In the same time period, there were the most murders per 100,000 people in 2010 and 2004.
Mayor ‘very angry
The mayor of Prince George, Simon Yu, says it’s a tragedy that hurts the whole city and makes Prince George look bad.
“I’m very angry, but I’m sorry for the families of the people who died. People are being used by the drug trade, ” he said.
Cooper said that the Combined Forces Uniformed Gang Enforcement Team has been working with the Serious Crime Unit in the city since last month to try to stop the violence.