Cape Dorset man charged with murder

An 18-year-old man from Cape Dorset, Nunavut, has been charged with second-degree murder after another man was shot dead in the Baffin Island hamlet on Sunday night.

RCMP charged Peter Kingwatsiak with second-degree murder on Tuesday, after officers found Mappaluk Adlakilled at a home in Cape Dorset.

Kingwatsiak has also been charged with breaking and entering into another residence to commit aggravated assault, as well as possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, RCMPstated in a release.

Police say Kingwatsiak has beentakeninto custody in Iqaluit. He is scheduled to appear before the Nunavut Court of Justice on Thursday.

On Monday, RCMP said a young manwho had been stabbed and injured on Sunday night may have been involved in the shooting. Police have not indicated if it was Kingwatsiak who was stabbed.

More counsellors needed: MLA

Residents of Cape Dorset, located 400 kilometres west of Iqaluit on the southwestern coast of Baffin Island, have been shocked and saddened by news of the shooting, said South Baffin MLA Fred Schell.

"It's always sad, especially when there's young people involved, and it's obviously affecting a couple families," Schell, who lives in thehamlet of about 1,200, told CBC Newsearlier Tuesday.

"We've had a few incidents over the last year I mean, there's been some suicides and different things and whenever this happens, it affects the whole community."

Schell said community leaders tend to come together after tragedies such as this one, but he added that more counsellors and support staff need to be available in Cape Dorset and other Nunavut communities.

When people in smaller communities have pent-up issues from their past, there are often no professional support workersaround to help them, Schell said.