Dozens of residents, police and politicians gathered in Mulgrave Park on Thursday night to discuss the community response to the murder of Ryan Matthew White.
The 21-year-old was shot dead by a single gunshot wound to the chest on July 22 in the 100 block of Jarvis Lane in the park. Police have made no arrests but said the investigation is ongoing. They don’t believe the shooting was a random incident.
Posters calling for witnesses to come forward are displayed throughout the area. Police are also asking for the public’s help.
“The community is concerned about what’s been going on,” said Halifax Regional Police deputy chief Chris McNeil.
The meeting, which was closed to media, heard calls for more lighting, more security cameras and an enhanced police presence, possibly including a station in the housing complex.
“My commitment is to figure out how we can make that work for them,” McNeil said.
He wouldn’t say what concrete steps police would take to do that.
Ann Duffy, whose son Daniel Borden was shot dead in Newfoundland earlier this year, said police need to become a permanent, integral part of the community.
Duffy, who’s lived in Mulgrave Park for 24 years, said there has been a strong police presence since the shooting.
“When the wreaths go away and the teddy bears go away and people calm down, are the police just going to disappear again?” she asked.
