A woman who lives in the Birchaven section of the city, says her neighbourhood is gripped with fear after a shooting in a schoolyard sent a 19-year-old to the hospital in serious condition last week
A 21-year-old North Bay man has been arrested and faces an attempted murder charge as well as numerous gun-related charges.
See: Attempted murder charge laid in schoolyard shooting
And: Shooting suspect facing additional six firearm charges
And: Concern rising over gun incidents in North Bay
BayToday has agreed not to name the woman, who has previously lived in Toronto, to protect her safety. We're calling her BH.
The shooting took place after midnight in the schoolyard of the catholic Holy Cross Elementary School in the Birchaven/Sage Road section of the city, a largely low-income part of North Bay. It sits just a couple of blocks from million-dollar homes nestled in the Delaney Bay area of Trout Lake.
BH says the nearby E.W. Norman Public School, recently sold to Canadore College, and Holy Cross. a catholic elementary school nearby, are both well-known trouble spots in the Lake Heights Road community.
She says the shooting will not be a one-off event in the area.
"You know, how many guns are in the area, and how many have been hidden under the bed that haven't been registered? Nobody's comfortable and we haven't been for a long time."
Trouble happens so often, BH says she's given up calling the police because she says they want her to get the names of the troublemakers instead of investigating themselves. She doesn't trust them.
"These kids run around, but even before that, the police wouldn't take care of it. They were just like, 'oh, they're kids being kids.' Those police officers are very, very aware of what's going on. I think I'm really disappointed with our police services and it hasn't been for the first time, it's been continual."
She also blames parents. "I don't think a lot of the parents with these kids are very available, so they're walking around. There's a drug house on the corner right beside Birchwood Village and they're selling cocaine. They're doing drugs. It's like, 'OK,' and what I heard from police officers and other people that say, 'We know where they are.' And I'm like, 'Oh well, apparently you didn't because one little lost lamb just got out and shot somebody."'
BH says she's noticed that small children aren't out playing in the playground after a certain time in the evening because of the danger. "Safety here, there's none. I know one that's 11 years old and she's already doing drugs, another one who's 10 years old.
"What's happening in the neighborhood? It's available. When they're down between the two schools, where Canadore just bought E.W, Norman. Yeah, they're playing down there."
The Nipissing-Parry Sound Catholic District School Board has refused comment. She fears community leaders are trying to sweep the problems under the rug and neighbors don't like to talk about it.
"Mostly everybody's too scared to talk. There was a shooting right across the street. That's crazy! People are just trying to put the blinders on like a racehorse, and so they're not actually understanding that there is so much damage. Nobody's gonna speak about it because everybody's hiding in their little nutshell.
"What I know is, everybody's putting their head in the sand and they're pretending that life goes on. But no, that's a real thing that happened here in North Bay. I'm pretty sure Main Street and a whole bunch of other areas are the same, but when I say there's people who sell drugs in this neighborhood, yeah, they do."
No public officials have stepped up to reassure the frightened residents.
BayToday reached out to Mayor Peter Chirico, who sits on the Police Board, for an interview on the situation but was refused. We also asked to interview Police Chief Daryl Longworth but got no response at all.
BH wants authorities to pay attention.
"Yeah, I think there's a lot of fear. I don't know everybody in the neighborhood but I would say there's a lot of fear. People are locking their doors and the kids are not out at night."
