As one 38-year North Preston resident drove by a shooting scene yesterday, he shook his head at what was happening in his community.
“It’s gotten worse. It was never like this. No, when I moved here this was a beautiful, peaceful, loving community,” said the man who identified himself simply as Ron.
“You have a little scrap, the next day or in a week or so it was all over. Nowadays they carry a vendetta.”
Police aren’t saying whether they believe the North Preston shooting Monday night was retaliation. But the Cain Street home that was hit by bullets around 11 p.m. is the residence of Roger Santrevo Downey, who had attempted murder charges against him dropped just four days earlier.
Downey was arrested last fall after Marchello Williams was shot on Cain Street on Oct 9.
A Nova Scotia public prosecution spokesperson said yesterday while Downey’s charges have been lifted for now, they haven’t ruled out re-filing them.
Police say two men were downstairs in the house when several shots were fired, including at least one through a downstairs window. No one was hurt. A vehicle parked in front of the house was also hit with gunfire.
There was another shooting outside the home just four months ago on Nov. 31.
As forensic investigators checked the scene yesterday morning, Ron said some of the young men in North Preston have become loose cannons and it gives the whole community a bad name.
“It’s despicable. I don’t know what we can do about it, to be honest,” he said.
“This doesn’t help matters much when you’re trying to lobby government, trying to improve your community and make it a better place to live,” Ron added.
“It’s hard to get support from elsewhere, because they figure with this kind of a situation, with this kind of action, maybe they’re better off with what they’ve got, which is nothing.”
