Despite two incidents involving gunshots within just over 24 hours of each other, Courtenay Mayor Bob Wells is assuring city residents the events are not reflective of the greater community.
Outside Courtenay City Hall Monday, Wells said while it is concerning within the community when he hears of shots fired or any kind of criminal activity, it is not indicative of day-to-day life within the City of Courtenay.
“Overall, I think it is a safe place. If you look at these shots in particular, these were targeted attacks, these were not random things that were happening. That’s the first thing to keep in mind,” he noted.
Early Sunday morning, police investigated a shooting near two Cumberland Road businesses.
On Monday morning, Comox Valley RCMP responded to a second incident of gunfire in an alleyway near 10th Street and Piercy Avenue around 7:48 a.m.
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“We do have a very safe city and yes, there are elements that are not as safe, but really those attacks are between themselves. The RCMP is investigating who did the shots and are bringing them to justice.”
Wells confirmed the house involved in the Monday morning incident is known to the RCMP as being a drug house.
“It’s one of those things that we’ve been meeting with the RCMP regularly to look at what our options are and we will continue to do that.”
He explained while some of the options for the city are limited outside of bylaws, he encourages residents and neighbours to communicate the RCMP if they hear or see of anything suspicious within the neighbourhood.
“For the people that think it is getting worse and are witnessing these types of acts, I’ll go back to the fact that the RCMP want to know if you see something or hear something, notify them as soon as possible. Call Crime Stoppers to make sure whatever happens stops immediately.”
Wells said he will be meeting with RCMP later this week to further investigate what options the city has which have not yet been explored to assist police.
erin.haluschak@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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