Suspect in Fort Smith, N.W.T., shooting arrested

The suspect behind what the RCMP described as a “mass shooting” in Fort Smith, N.W.T., on Saturday has been taken into custody. 

The suspect was arrested without incident at around 4:30 a.m. MT on Sunday, police said in a release. Charges are forthcoming, pending further investigation. The suspect joins two other people of interest, who were taken into custody on Saturday.  

Mayor Dana Fergusson said the news brings a “gentle sense of relief.”

“It’s one more bad guy out of the community, you know,” she said on Sunday. “Having that person detained and arrested really gives people peace of mind.”

Mayor was eyewitness

In addition to being Fort Smith’s mayor, Dana Fergusson owns the bar where the shooting occurred and was an eyewitness. As the opening event of the Fireweed Festival was drawing to a close, an altercation outside Dirty O’Fergies bar led to shots fired and three people injured. The community went into lockdown, with a shelter-in-place order that lasted for more than 13 hours. 

Fergusson was in the parking lot when the shooting happened. After assisting the victims, she helped get other people to safety until emergency responders arrived. 

The victims’ identities and the details of their injuries have yet to be released. But Fergusson said they were medically evacuated out of the community. 

“My feeling of the folks that have been impacted is that they’re healing, they’re mending, they are doing what they need to do to get through this,” she said. “Their families are sticking with them and by them.”

The police presence increased dramatically, with resources coming from Yellowknife and Yukon to assist in the search for the suspect. 

“The tireless efforts of our officers and specialized units made it possible to resolve this incident. We are committed to ensuring the safety of Fort Smith,” said RCMP Inspector James Lai, in a statement released on Sunday. “I would like to thank the residents and local leadership for their continued co-operation and patience.”

After the lockdown was lifted, community members helped make sure others had what they needed, from groceries to information. Fergusson said that support — coming after a day spent behind locked doors — represents the town’s spirit.

“For Fort Smith, great job,” she said. “Thank you for doing what you guys do and being there for each other, to hold each other up. You know, that makes us a really beautiful community.”

Festival returns

The Fireweed Festival, which was postponed during the shelter-in-place order, also returned. 

“Like fireweed itself — resilient, determined and able to bloom after the hardest moments — we will rise together,” festival organizers wrote in a post on social media on Saturday as music returned to Dirty O’Fergies. 

Events continued onto Sunday, with organizers asking attendees to support vendors and artists who had travelled to attend the festival and were impacted. 

Fergusson was at Queen Elizabeth Territorial Park on Sunday, where food vendors, artists and musicians were set up. She said it was a much different feeling than the silence of the community on Saturday. 

“I can hear music. There’s so much traffic, lots of people parking and walking to go there,” she said. “The community needs something to bring joy.”

Police are asking anyone that was present during the altercation that preceded the shooting to speak with investigators at the Fort Smith RCMP detachment on Monday between 1 p.m. MT and 9 p.m. MT, even if they have already spoken to police.