Healing together: How Fredericton copes in aftermath of shootings - Action News
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New Brunswick

Healing together: How Fredericton copes in aftermath of shootings

People in New Brunswick's small capital city have been responding and grieving in a variety of ways since a gunman opened fire and killed four people on the north side last Friday.

City of Fredericton still reeling after north side shooting that killed 4 people

Flowers on the sign outside the Fredericton police station
Flowers are placed on a makeshift memorial outside the police station in Fredericton on Saturday, Aug. 11, 2018. Two city police officers were among four people who died in a shooting in a residential area on the city's north side. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

People in New Brunswick's small capital city have been grieving since a gunman opened fire and killed four people on the north side last week.

"This is a small community," said TracyHoulding, a clinical supervisor at Family Enrichment andCounselingService in Fredericton.

"What touches one person touches many."

Killed in the shootings wereConst.RobbCostello, 45, Const. Sara Burns, 43, Donnie Robichaud, 42, and Bobbie Lee Wright, 32.

Matthew Vincent Raymond, 48,is charged with four counts of murder.

Often, an essentially peacefulcity like Fredericton, with a population of only about 58,000 people, has a particular struggle after a tragedy of this nature because there are only "six degrees of separation,"Houldingsaid.

"If you don't know the victims directly, you know someone who does," she said.

A lot of this public help will fade away relatively quickly but the grief of the families will last a lot longer.-TracyHoulding, counsellor

But how people respond to the shootings or grieve for the victims can take many forms, she said.

People connected to the victims will grieve differently.

"Their grief is very personal and very raw," she said.

Other people may find themselves suddenly thinking about previous losses in their lives and the "unresolved grief" they might still have.

Still others, perhaps more distant from the event itself, may feel asense of "how could this possibly happen in my community? This isn't the way the world is supposed to work."

Grief is unique

Thousands of people took parts in Hands & Hearts Across the City, joining hands on the paths leading up to the walking bridge and across it to remember the four victims of last week's shooting. (Jon Collicott/CBC)

Houlding said grief varies based on a person's personalmakeup, characteristics, coping, andrelationship withthe deceased.

And it's different when people are lost in a violent incident such as happenedon Brookside Drive.

"People's grief tends to be more intense and more prolonged," she said. "There's also the traumatic aspect of it."

A collage of four people
Victims of Friday's shooting from left to right: Const. Robb Costello, 45, and Const. Sara Burns, 43, Donnie Robichaud, 42, and Bobbie Lee Wright, 32. (CBC)

She said some people,particularly first responders,may have to dealwith post-traumatic stress disorder.

"Many of them would've feared for their own safety," Houlding said. "That alone can create a trauma."

For many people, there is a need to be part of something, which helps in the grieving process.

In Fredericton, people have paid tribute on social media, brought flowers to the police station, taken part in prayer vigils or, as happened Monday night, joined hands in the Hands & Hearts Across the Cityevent, held at the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge.

How residents react

Meanwhile, a smaller group of people must go through experiences directly related to the crime, Houlding said.

Peoplein the apartments near the shooting last week, who may have heard the gunfire or seen the carnage, were forced out of their homes for a few days while police investigated the shootings.

People were encouraged to hold three minutes of silence at 7:30 p.m. for the victims. (Jon Collicott/CBC)

The wide range of reactions among these people could include anxiety, uncertainty and a tendency to question themselves and "the order of the universe."

"They make life sort of feel like, 'What's the point?'" she said.

While some rely on counselling others could rely on family and friends.

Houlding said that if someone knows a person impacted by such an event, it's important to offer practical help, such as food, childcare and help answering emails or phone calls.

It's also important to avoid hurrying them through their grief and to commit to the duration of it, she said.

"A lot of this public help will fade away relatively quickly but the grief of the families will last a lot longer," she said. "It's valuable to have support down the road."

With files from Information Morning Fredericton