A resident of a Halifax homeless encampment says he’s becoming increasingly worried about the lack of security at the designated tent site, as police investigate a shooting that took place over the weekend.
Andrew Goodsell says he was actually in the middle of an interview with an online radio show about safety at encampments when he heard gunshots in the distance.
“I heard four loud bangs and then quite a few minutes later, you hear tons of sirens and then the cops showed up and mentioned that there was a shooting and they were investigating it,” he said.
Halifax Regional Police (HRP) say they were called to the Lower Flinn Park encampment site, which is located along Quinpool Road, at around 9:55 a.m. Sunday.
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They found a 30-year-old man who had been shot and was suffering from life-threatening injuries.
Police say they do not believe the shooting was random, and they’re looking for the public’s help with tips.
“The investigation is ongoing, no arrests have been made at this time, but once again, I would like to repeat that we are looking for anyone from the public who has information and or dashcam footage from the area to contact Halifax police,” HRP spokesperson Const. Martin Cromwell said.
Goodsell, who lives at the park with his dog Dusty, says he’s been worried about safety as more tents continue to pop up and wishes the municipality would increase security.
“When you got a bunch of people that have potential mental health issues and we’re all out on the streets, winter’s coming, times are getting really tough,” he said.
“I feel like they’re actually putting us in harm’s way, not actually preventing it.”
Global News reached out to Halifax Regional Municipality about security measures at designated encampment sites, but staff declined to comment, citing the ongoing police investigation.
Police say there’s no immediate threat to the public at this time but for those who live at the site, there’s no comfort in that assessment.
“There is no safety, right? There is no safety in an encampment. So I guess the only thing I’d add is, could we please get some sense of safety?” Goodsell said.
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