The B.C. RCMP is deploying additional officers to Dawson Creek in response to a recent surge in violence in the community of around 12,400 residents. Over the past week, there have been two notable shootings, including a drive-by incident in a residential area and another shooting in a business district resulting in one fatality and another person injured.

Authorities believe these violent events are linked to gang activities. Various provincial units, such as the Uniform Gang Enforcement Team and Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, will be dispatched to the city located approximately 400 kilometers north of Prince George, near the B.C.-Alberta border.

Dawson Creek has been grappling with a series of violent incidents for years, which were the focus of a CBC Fifth Estate investigation aired last fall. The investigation revealed that since 2021, 11 individuals have either disappeared or been murdered in the community, a significant rise compared to just one recorded homicide seven years earlier.

Despite expectations of progress in solving high-profile cases by RCMP Supt. Sanjaya Wijayakoon, no breakthroughs or arrests have been made public yet. North District RCMP Insp. Steve McLeod emphasized the ongoing seriousness with which law enforcement is addressing the city’s challenges.

Mayor Darcy Dober of Dawson Creek expressed support for the local police force and acknowledged the distressing nature of the violence, attributing it to targeted gang-related activities rather than random street violence. He reassured that the community is not as dangerous as portrayed by recent events, emphasizing the localized and unfortunate nature of the incidents.