An officer of the Canadian police (RCMP) died on Tuesday after being stabbed while checking the tent of a man who was camping in a park in the Canadian city of Burnaby, in the province of British Columbia. At approximately 11 a.m. local time, Constable Shaelyn Yang, 31, and a Burnaby Parks Board worker arrived at Broadview Park near the city of Vancouver, where they a homeless man fatally stabbed the officeras reported by ‘The Globe and Mail’.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and took Yang to a nearby hospital. However, police were pronounced dead at the medical center, as detailed by Superintendent Graham De La Gorgendière. “His death while on duty and serving our community makes no sense and is tragic“said the superintendent, assuring that working with mental health and the homeless “can be a challenge“.
Yang was part of the RCMP’s mental health and homelessness outreach team, CBC has learned. The officer’s death came three days after municipal elections in the region, which focused on issues of public security and the growing number of homeless and tent camps in many communities. The New Democratic Social Democratic government of the province of British Columbia has come under pressure to address public safety issues from both municipal governments and the opposition Liberal Party.
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