Chilliwack Mayor says 'growing pains' behind recent crimes

The Mayor of Chilliwack said the recent fatalstabbing in a grocery store parking lot is part of agrowing problem in the city, but everyone is working hard to keep the community safe.

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"We are a small town that is having the growing pains of moving towards a big city," said Sharon Gaetz.

Gaetzsaid Monday's crimewas addressed quickly as a nearby police officer swiftlyapprehended the suspect and gave CPR to the victim.

"There are struggles,absolutely...but the city is very quick to get out there," she said, adding that thetwo men involvedwere known to police.

Gaetzsaid many of thecrimes in Chilliwackstem from individuals with mental health issues or from drug addiction. She is calling on the province to assist the city with a strategy to address those issues.

"The city wishes it had the resources to deal with those but it really is the domain of the province, we are asking the province to give us a hand on this," she said.

She is also calling on the province to assist the city to keep prolific offenders behind bars.

"It's not good enough that thesepeople are sentenced and then turn outinto our streets to do whatever crimes they wish again to serve maybe a day or two again in prison," she said.

For now, Gaetz urges residents to call police immediately when they witness a crime, no matter how small.

With files from the CBC's The Early Edition and Samantha Garvey.

To hear the full story listen to the audio labelled:Chilliwack Mayor says 'growing pains' behind recent crimes.