The house where the man barricaded himself with his three children during a seven-hour standoff.
Image Credit: Twitter/Daryl Huff
April 24, 2014 - 4:10 AM
CLEARWATER – Six staff members from School District 73 were in Clearwater today to deal with the aftermath of an altercation that left a mother of three dead yesterday morning.
RCMP were asked for their assistance at a home on Stegg Road in the morning, April 21. When they arrived they found the woman dead and began a homicide investigation. Her three children, ages six, four and two, were missing. Mounties immediately launched a search for the children and the suspect, leading them to home on Joyce Road. The Clearwater man barricaded himself inside the house with the children, resulting in a seven-hour standoff.
The case is still under investigation. The man was taken into custody and is set to appear before a judge this afternoon.
School District 73 Assistant Superintendent Karl deBruijn says upon hearing of the tragedy, members of the district decided to send additional student support. Two teachers-on-call have been sent to Clearwater to act as additional coverage for teachers who may want to speak about the events with students. Four counsellors were assigned to two schools, Raft River Elementary and Clearwater Elementary, to help students who may need therapy or comfort.
“We know that in a small town like Clearwater, everyone’s connected,” deBruijn said.
“These things can sometimes have some significant impact in the school... We just wanted to have people there to help and assist where needed.”
DeBruijn says the district’s decision to send assistance was also due to the possibility of the event triggering memories of past tragedies, such as the deaths of Courtney and Skye Buck – teachers at Raft River Elementary. The Bucks, along with their unborn son, were killed in a car accident in December of 2012.
The district support will assist the Clearwater schools until further notice.
“We’ll monitor the situation closely and we’ll keep the staff in there as long as they feel it’s needed,” deBruijn said.
To contact a reporter for this story, email gbrothen@infotelnews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014