Monday evening Prince Rupert Council session addresses Ocean Centre events of the morning

Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond spoke to the Monday morning
incident at the Ocean Centre Mall prior to Monday evening's Regular Council Session

The start of Monday's City Council session provided opportunity for Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond to speak to the events of Monday mornings tragic event in the Ocean Centre mall, with Mr. Pond noting of the incident at the start of the Regular Council session.

The Ocean Centre was behind police tape and the location Monday for a  large police presence following a murder-suicide at the downtown business office facility.

In his comments, the Mayor observed of the impact on the families involved, that of those connected in the community who work at City Hall, reinforcing the need for the community to focus on facts and allow the RCMP to continue with their investigation.

"It is absolutely no secret what the community has been going through today and City Hall was affected by all that went on today. We were under lockdown early this morning. We have members of our staff who are connected into what took place and I'm concerned about all of that.

But I'm concerned even more about the families that are more directly involved and people that were more directly involved and Councillor Forster in your work you were involved in some of that.

So, we'll leave it to the RCMP to speak to the facts of the matter, but I want to offer the community and particularly the families that are closest to this tragic event, the heartfelt condolences of this entire Council.

It's been a really hard day for our community, as you can appreciate. We had media contacting us because people away wanted to know what was going on; but beyond that we also had calls and expressions of sympathy from other community leaders and that was appreciated.

And you know I just want to encourage the public to ...  if you're going to be talking about it, focus on facts, let's have factual conversations about what took place. 

But, beyond that let's have really gracious ... you may be surprised who's been affected by this and let's lean on each other a just little bit in this really difficult time.

And I know that that's the feeling of the entire City Council and indeed of City staff"

The Mayors comments to Council can be reviewed through the City's video archive starting at the 36 minute mark.

Mr. Pond's comments were among a number relayed Monday by local representatives for the region.

The most recent notes from the RCMP related to Monday's incident can be reviewed here.

Wind Warning for Wednesday issued by Environment Canada for North and Central Coasts, Haida Gwaii

A Wednesday weather maker for the North Coast, Central Coat
and Haida Gwaii is forming up in the North Pacific

Wednesday is shaping up to be a windy one for the North Coast, Central Coast and Haida Gwaii, with Environment Canada issuing WIND WARNINGS for those areas early Tuesday morning, 

The strong frontal system is expected to track across Haida Gwaii on Wednesday and then reach the North and Central coasts by the evening.

As it approaches in the afternoon, those areas will see strong wind of 90 to 110 kilometres per hour over exposed coastal areas, the front will ease gradually into the overnight period into Thursday.

With the wind will come some significant rain, with up to 50mm anticipated for the Prince Rupert region on Wednesday, another 20mm to arrive on Thursday.

Follow Environment Canada for updated information as the frontal system makes its transit.

More notes of past weather themes can be reviewed from our archive page.

Local leaders reflect on today's events at Ocean Centre Mall

The impact of today's horrific news from the Ocean Centre Mall is being felt around Prince Rupert and beyond, with city and regional leaders sharing a few thoughts on the incident today through their Social media streams.

As part of today's flow of information and condolences, the City of Prince Rupert provided some guidance for those who may be seeking someone to talk with related to today's events

The City also issued a formal statement on the tragic events of Monday, which you can review here. 

While Prince Rupert Mayor Herb Pond was among those of the elected officials to post messages to the community today, sharing his thoughts through his Facebook page just after 4 PM.

Update: Mr. Pond also spoke to the tragic events as part of Monday's City Council Session. 

Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven  was the first on Council to note of today's incident , and has also released a number of social media messages as the day moved forward through his social media stream.

This afternoon MLA Jennifer Rice also spoke to the incident in a statement to the British Columbia Legislature, as well as to post her thoughts to her social media stream.

Update: On Tuesday, Premier David Eby issued a formal statement on the shooting in the community.

Shortly after the first update of the day from the RCMP, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Taylor Bachrach also made note of the incident and forwarded his condolences to the community.

The most recent update on the incident from the Prince Rupert RCMP can be reviewed from our notes of earlier this afternoon.

RCMP confirm 'isolated shooting' in Ocean Centre this morning, left 1 victim deceased, suspect deceased of self inflicted gunshot wound

Update: The Prince Rupert RCMP provided a second update on the Ocean Centre Mall incident of Monday, advising in the evening that the 44 year old male had succumbed to his injuries.

The Full RCMP announcement is available here.

**We have changed the headline above, to reflect the latest information. 

*********************************Original Story***************************

The Prince Rupert detachment of the RCMP has provided a further update to this mornings incident at the Ocean Centre Mall.  

One which has tragically left a Prince Rupert female resident deceased and has now officially been noted as an isolated shooting, involving persons known to each other

"At approximately 08:30, the Prince Rupert RCMP received a priority 1 call for shots fired at the Ocean Centre Mall located on 3rd Ave W. Some members who were already in the area responded immediately and quickly determined that it was not an active shooter situation but rather an isolated incident between 2 people. 

The suspect, a 44-year-old man, is believed to have shot the victim, a 52-year-old woman, before attempting to take his own life; the 2 individuals were known to each-other. 

The woman was pronounced dead on scene and the man was transported to the local hospital and is currently in critical medical condition. "It is still in the early stage of the investigation and therefore, limited details can be released at this time, but I would like to call for any potential witnesses that have not been identified by police yet to come forward and provide a statement. 

Additionally, anyone with video surveillance, dashcam footage or other video recordings from this morning between 06:00AM and 09:00AM around the Ocean Centre Mall are asked to contact the Prince Rupert RCMP at 250-624-2136. 

The Prince Rupert RCMP wants to reassure the public that they are safe as there is no active threat at this time but asks that people avoid the Ocean Centre Mall area while police are continuing their investigation. It has been closed to the public until further notice." --  Constable Gabriel Gravel, Media Relations Officer with the Prince Rupert RCMP.

The statement from the RCMP is available for review here.

You can review our previous articles on today's incident below

10:48 AM Police Provide Short update on Ocean Centre incident

9:51 AM Large Police Presence at Ocean Centre

Further notes on the incident and the work of Emergency Responders across the Northwest can be reviewed through our archive page.

More City Contract Awards for CT Northern Contractors

The City of Prince Rupert will relay news of two more contract awards tonight for CT Northern Contractors. 

The local Indigenous led contractor group which has become quite a familiar name of late when it comes to City announcement; thanks to a number of  previous contracts awarded from the municipality in recent years

As part of the Agenda for tonight's Prince Rupert Council Session, Richard Pucci, the City's Operations Director and Director of Intergovernmental Relations will present a report that recommends the awarding of  a contract for the City's SCADA communication program to CT Northern Contractors Alliance Limited Partnership.

That organization provided for the one compliant proposal for the Bid that was issued in August and closed on September 15th. The lump sum price towards the contract is 1, 563,852.60.

It's noted in the report (available below) that the project is part of City Council's Strategic plan for Water Treatment and is supported mostly by a Grant.

click to enlarge

The second successful Bid for the Contractors Alliance is through a recent initiative from the Planning Department, that related to the recent Request for Expressions of interest towards a community housing solution.

That initiative will make for a co-shared award for the Northern Contractor Alliance and Graham Capital, a Canadian bases construction solutions firm that specializes in the development of public infrastructure and pubic-private partnerships. 

The City's Housing  initiative is called a zero-cost agreement in the Report for Council for review tonight.

click to enlarge

Council wil have opportunity to follow top on both reports with comments or questions as part of this evenings Council proceedings.

More notes on tonight's Council Session can be explored through our preview here.

Further background on past Bids and Tenders from the City can be reviewed here.

RCMP provide short update on Ocean Centre incident

The Prince Rupert Detachment of the RCMP has released details of a tragic event taking place at the Ocean Centre Mall this morning, noting of one death and one critical injury related to a serious incident.

"The Prince Rupert RCMP are on scene at the Ocean Centre Mall for a serious police incident. They were called to the mall shortly after 8:30 AM. 

When police arrived, one person was deceased and another person critical injured. The investigation is unfolding and we are asking people to avoid the Ocean Centre Mall as police work to gather evidence. 

We know the traumatic impact this incident will have on many people and we have supports in place to assist those that may need help said S/Sgt Dave Uppal, Prince Rupert RCMP. 

 More details may be released as they become available."

The full RCMP statement can be reviewed here.

Our original notes on the incident can be reviewed here.

Large Police presence at Ocean Centre

Most Recent Update from RCMP  on Monday morning incident can be reviewed here  

****************************Original story*********************************

Details have yet to be released related to what appears to have been an incident at the Ocean Centre Mall.

The downtown office building one which has seen a large RCMP response to the Northern Health side at Second Street and Third Avenue West.

Police tape surrounds the office building from the southern entrance, while bystanders and workers from the building stand outside, the road at Second Street has been closed.  

The west bound travel lane on Third West is currently filled with responding police cruisers.

A number of local businesses and services in the Centre and in the area surrounding it had locked their doors earlier in the morning, that as the RCMP arrived on scene. 

Access to the Ocean Centre is limited at this time, with some of the police tape seen inside of the Centre.

The RCMP have noted that there is no threat to the public related to the situation.

Northern Health has posted a short notice to their Social media stream advising that the Health Unit offices will be Closed until further notice.

City Councillor Reid Skelton Morven had provided some background to the incident through his social media feed, making note of a potential active shooter in the downtown area mid morning.

The City of Prince Rupert also relayed some information this afternoon,  towards the incident, as well as links to the North Coast Transition Society for those who may wish to talk about events today.

Should more information be made available we'll update our notes on the incident.