4 WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2024 Stratford murder will have "massive impact" on community, victim services say CORY SMITH Stratford's first murder in almost 20 years shook the city and will ave a “massive impact” on not only those who lived on the street Mane Ricky Bilcke shot, eas killed something like thisishappeningin your own neighbourhood. “Some hyper-vigilanceisn’tabad thing, buti itcan get out of control.” The healing has only begun for Stratford residents, in particular those who live on Bradshaw Drive. shane Wiebe sai z= ‘ooth- ers before taking his own life, but the community asa whole, Victim Services Huron Perth’s executive director said. “Tt’s a massive impact and has huge ripple effects of people not hood will not “retreat in fear.” “I think the initial reaction is, ‘my goodness, are we safe?,’ and that is a natural reaction,” he said shortly after the incident, “but we must choose web We must choose ie and the nity they live in,” Deborah Logue said. “Even toknowthiscanhappen in our area is hard to accept.” Representatives from the volun- teer-based agency, which provides short-term emotional support, practical assistance and commu- nity referrals to victims and sur- vivors of crime, trauma and tragic circumstance, were on site last neighbours are seat talking about getting together as a whole street to talk about the event and talk about . . . how we can know our neighbours better. There are so many beautiful new Canadians on the street, and this is their first impression, which is terrifying.” bour Karith Kumar saidhe | Neigh ee to (let) the kids play freely. tosend the kids ly gunshots on Bradshaw Drive Aug. 1 shattered a piece of the city’s innocence. Before Bilcke killed Johnny Bennett and critically wounded Stephanie Irvine and David Tok- ley, Stratford’s last homicide was in 2005, when Nik Kerr pleaded guilty to manslaughter after stab- bing Todd Ross. The last shooting death in the city was in 1993 when George Jackson killed his wife, Catherine, a local teacher. The rampage was a wake-up call, Logue said, especially since it hap- pened in public. “Each trauma is different, and this was more brought out into the open and onto the street. The bubble got burst a little bit and brings it home that it can happen anywhere at any time. There are no guarantees in life, and that’s a hard message to hear and accept.” The natural response is to hold loved ones closer and appreciate life in the moment, Logue said. It’s also typical for those affected to be hyper-vigilant and try to control the environment around th “It’s normal to be heightened and protective,” she said. We tend to go to extremes because it’s scary rath to play.” AzraGhaffar, another neighbour, heard ‘screaming from her home and witnessed some of the after- mat! Tf: ‘you have aconfrontation, use your words, not your weapons,” she said. “I thought Stratford was a Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma said he walked down the street recently and spoke to several res- idents still coming to grips with what happens “Itwas un reality. It’s the idea of, ‘give usa little bit of time to pro- cess this.” ‘0 people told him they still believe the street and the city are safe places. “We tend, andit’s nobody’s fault, to believe when something like this is happening that it defines us asacity, and we can’thave that,” he said. “There are people who are not even close to the location (of the shootings), but they feel threat- ened and impacted by this. I have to be respectful of that as mayor and aaaeaeoe these individuals are stru; Ritsma aes reached out to a SCHOONDERWOE: | Sisters Macken; | only thei and Madelyn aE show off not ir affection for one another but also their craft | they finished during the West Perth Public Library Sum- mer Fun the final week of July - appropriately enough, an Olympic theme. \; q , Casey Schultz (left), Haren Rock and Nora McKee can’t help but show off ‘their affection # their li another eer) cee of fun and crafts during the West Perth Public Library's summer fun program. Paice MITCHELL ADVOCATE rary, ao z 2 ‘i : 2 Sam McLellan shows his Olympic craft - and spirit - during the West Perth Public Library's summer fun Program the last week of July. OLYMPIC THEME AT SUMMER FUN group that represents several city churches to facilitate the healing process. He wants to bring togeth- er residents, first responders and community organizations and agencies, ideally within the next two “We need to find an opportuni for the community to come togeth- 5 3 & é iat g 4 Es er,” he said. “We have no choice.” The uneasiness will settle with time, and life will return to nor- tim Services Huron Perth through www.victimserviceshuronperth. ca, calling 519-600-4108 or email- mal, Logue said. struggling to process the trauma to connect with loved ones or someone aes makes them feel comfortal hey can ae reach out to Vic- ing info@vict: pe. “This isa challenge with our or- ees Logue said. “People n’t know about us until it’s the sae day of their life.”