One of the comments that came following Friday’s tragic shooting in Fredericton was, “Things like this aren’t supposed to happen here.”
Constable Robb Hartlen serves on the Kensington Police Force in PEI, but lives in Fredericton.
He says he can relate, “When I was chatting with a friend of mine on the Fredericton Police Force and he said the exact same thing. It is supposed to happen somewhere else, it isn’t supposed to happen this close to home. But now you have two incidents that have happened this close to home.”
Four people were shot and killed on Brookside Drive in Fredericton’s north side on Friday, two of them were members of the Fredericton Police Force
Forty-five-year-old Constable Robb Costello and 43-year-old Constable Sara Burns were two of the victims in Friday’s tragic shooting incident.
Forty-two-year-old Donald Adam Robichaud and 32-year-old Bobbie Lee Wright were also killed in the shooting.
Hartlen says “An incident like this makes the men and women of the Fredericton Police force stronger and closer. I think it also does more than just change the force, it changes your town, your city. It makes residents all a little more aware of what is going on.”
The aftereffects of a tragic incident like this can be devastating. There can be cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for both officers and for members of the public.
Hartlen says it is important that we raise awareness and talk about it, “How to deal with it and how to get the help when it is needed. When you need a shoulder and need someone to talk to, if you need an ear or a hug, someone to vent to or yell at, there is someone who can be there.”
