Wife of attack victim speaks out as Mount Pearl forum tackles recent teen violence
CBC
More than 200 Mount Pearl residents attended a public meeting Tuesday night to address violent crime in the city, following a string of random attacks that resulted in seven teenagers in the community being arrested.
Around two dozen people walked up to a microphone in the middle of the packed Reid Community Centre gymnasium to speak candidly with city politicians, Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers and others.
Many who spoke shared impassioned anecdotes about feeling unsafe in the city they call home, calling on politicians, police officers and each other to better address violent crime in the city.
Every resident who spoke received a loud applause from the audience, but one person's story was met with a standing ovation.
Bailey Rempel's husband was one of the victims of the attacks that occurred late last month. She said her husband was attacked with a baseball bat by a group of teenagers as he was picking up his children from school at Morris Academy.
"You've heard what happened, but there are things that don't make it into the headlines," said Rempel.
"Like how I had to go down to the school multiple times to calm my kids the day that they went back. Like how they haven't been back to after-school care, and they haven't been back to Girl Guides."
Rempel said she arrived at the scene of the crime far before RNC officers, who she said arrived within 20 minutes.
Rempel told the room an RNC officer was dismissive about finding the perpetrators. Soon after, she said another victim was attacked by the same group of teenagers in the same vicinity as Rempel's husband.
She called on government officials, the RNC and other public groups to work together to prevent similar violent attacks from occurring in the future.
"The youth offenders' lives matter. The victims' lives matter. And the future of this community matters," Rempel concluded.
Police have said two back-to-back attacks, including the one on Rempel's husband, were random.
The City of Mount Pearl invited residents to discuss their concerns at a public meeting following three separate violent attacks that resulted in the RNC charging seven teenagers, aged 13 to 16.
The teenagers are facing a range of individual charges, including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
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