Saskatchewan girl, 13, recovering from shotgun wound

A 13-year-old girl from La Loche, Sask., is recovering in hospital after being hit with a shotgun blast on the weekend.

The girl's father, Robert St. Pierre, said his daughter was at her grandmother's house in La Loche on Fridaywhen she heard a commotion outside.

When she went out to investigate, a shotgun blast went off, hitting her with more than a dozen lead pellets,said St. Pierre, who is in Saskatoon, where his daughter is being treated.

The girl was taken to hospital in La Loche, a northern village of about 2,300 people, then airlifted to Saskatoon, where surgery was performed. She's listed in stable condition, the RCMP said.

The shooting happened on the main street in La Loche, on a corner where gangs hang out, St. Pierre said.

He urged witnesses to come forward.

"When nobody knows what happened or saw what happened or, you know, lets the police know what happened, we are basically saying it's OK," he said. " 'We don't want to get involved.' Well, you gotta get involved. We gotta be involved. We gotta take our community back."

The investigation into the shooting continues, RCMP said Tuesday afternoon. No one was arrested at the time of the shooting, but police havesuspects, RCMP said.

Police said there's no connection between the wounding of the La Loche girl and the weekend death of a man on the nearby Clearwater River Dene Nation.

Mitchell Don Lemaigre, 20, has been charged with manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of Palmer Nicky Piche, 30, whose body was found on the reserve early Saturday morning.