‘It will not be tolerated’: Sask. leaders cracking down on violence following recent homicides

RCMP continue to search for a suspect after a fatal shooting in Pelican Narrows that left a woman dead and a man injured. Jasmine Pelletier reports.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kianna Custer of Pelican Narrows, Sask., was killed in the community Monday, with RCMP continuing to search for the suspect.

This is the third homicide investigation in the last month, in a municipality with less than 3,000 residents.

Councillor Olivia Custer says the community is also facing the threat of organized crime.

“Some children in the community, as young as six years old, have been caught up in networks operating in their community,” she said in a press conference Wednesday.

“This is not acceptable and it will not be tolerated. Child and Family Services is engaged.”

Leaders have taken steps to get a handle on violence in the region, including implementing an ATV ban and applying for community safety funding through Public Safety Canada.

At the time of the shooting Monday, a security checkpoint was active at the community’s only road entrance.

The checkpoint, where security checks IDs and confiscates drugs and alcohol, is manned by a private security company hired by local council.

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Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation (PBCN) is working on a permit system to address trafficking and bootlegging by water.

“Our local fishermen can operate without these activities being used as a cover-up to get alcohol into the community,” explained Custer.

Increased police presence

Leadership continues to call for RCMP vacancies in the area to be filled. Since January 2024, RCMP officers from various communities have deployed to cover almost 900 relief shifts in Pelican Narrows.

The Saskatchewan RCMP says several officers will transfer to Pelican Narrows in the coming months, and in the fall a new rotational model will see officers deployed from Saskatoon to the area.

PBCN leadership will fly to Ottawa next week to speak with the federal Minister of Indigenous Services. For now, an increased police presence remains in Pelican Narrows, with many in the community still on edge.