Crime Can Happen Anywhere But Let's Try to Live Our Lives

It’s been a busy night and day for the Winnipeg Police Service. One man died and another was injured after a shooting inside Salisbury House on Pembina Highway around 3 yesterday morning.

That neighborhood is not known for being riddled with crime, but the shooting is bound to make some Winnipeggers concerned for their safety and others simply wondering what is happening to our city. Police said they believe the shooting was not random and there is no threat to public safety.

Growing up in River Heights, I suppose I believe the stereotype that certain parts of Winnipeg are more dangerous than others, Fort Richmond not being one of the areas on my “dangerous list.”

This shooting does concern me, but I take solace in a few things that you may also have considered. It happened at 3 in the morning in the middle of the week. Certainly not all, but a good many crimes happen at night when there are less people around. This doesn’t make the shooting any less tragic, but it should put people’s minds at ease who are worried about being targeted by gunmen in broad daylight.

Speaking of being targeted, that was exactly the circumstances of the Sals shooting: police said the two men shot were targeted. Again, that fact doesn’t make this any less of a tragedy, but it lets us know that our neighborhood restaurants are still fairly safe.

It also teaches me an important lesson: crime can happen anywhere. Perhaps there is more of it in my so-called “dangerous neighborhoods”, but there is no crime-free part of Winnipeg.

Having said that, I’ve always been a firm believer that we should not live in fear. If we are too scared of being gunned down to walk down the street, visit a neighborhood restaurant, or go out at night, I don’t really think that’s living. Is it?

So, as good citizens, let’s be concerned as we should be. Let’s express our condolences to the families of those who were shot and the staff members who had to go through this ordeal. Let’s hope that our municipal, provincial, and federal leaders are getting ever-closer to addressing the route causes of crime and therefore preventing crimes from being committed. And most of all, let’s try and live our lives as best we can, being concerned citizens, but not living in fear.