Banff working to prevent further violence in wake of recent homicides

The mayor of Banff says the town is working to prevent acts of violence following two homicides just weeks apart in the same block.

“I am shocked, I am angry, I am deeply saddened by the incident that happened over the weekend,” Mayor Corrie DiManno said.

“It has shaken the community to its core and we are concerned and so, we are wanting to make sure this doesn’t become a trend.”

Ryden William Brogden, 27, from Foothills County was stabbed to death early Saturday after an altercation along Banff Avenue.

Some people told CTV News it happened outside the McDonald’s, but RCMP say it happened outside a bar.

John Sproule, 20, of Lake Country, B.C., has been charged with second-degree murder.

A second suspect who was taken into custody was released without charges after police determined he wasn’t directly involved in the incident.

This comes shortly after 26-year-old Banff resident Ethan Enns-Goneau was killed after what friends called an attack at the Dancing Sasquatch nightclub in the early hours of Aug. 5.

They said he was ambushed and stabbed multiple times in the washroom.

That marked Banff’s first homicide in more than 30 years.

As for the latest homicide, the Banff Hospitality Collective, which runs several establishments in town, said due to the proximity, staff at the Dancing Sasquatch immediately reported the incident to the RCMP.

“We are shocked and saddened that within such a short time frame, we are again faced with the reality of violence in our community,” the group said in a statement.

“We continue to work with our team members and the community to identify opportunities to bolster the safety of Banff’s downtown core.”

Over the weekend, the RCMP said there is no danger or safety concerns for residents and visitors of Banff, and that the two homicides are not believed to be connected.

Still, community residents like Bayden Barrett are on edge.

“Ever since the first one happened, we’ve all been trying to stick together when we’re walking home at night and stuff, you know, strength in numbers,” he told CTV News.

“Definitely not going out as much because it’s crazy. Honestly, the security at some of these places, I really think it could be increased a little bit more.”

Senator and former Banff mayor Karen Sorensen calls the deaths senseless and tragic.

“We’re a tourism-based community, but we’re also home to 9,000 residents and this is just not something that we have ever had to, frankly, even think about and so, it’s been a very hard few weeks,” she said.

DiManno said the RCMP actively patrol the downtown core, including the pedestrian zone, every night.

She said the town also recently added a new RCMP officer and is looking to bring in another soon.

Banff also has something called Bar Watch, which is a system that allows all of the downtown restaurants and bars to be in constant communication with each other.

“We want to understand what happened and why they are similar in nature and we want to understand the cause. From there, we want to examine the ways in which we can try and enhance our security and make it safe for everyone,” DiManno said.

She adds that supports are available to residents and tourists who are impacted by this deadly violence through Bow Valley Victim Services and 211, a mental health service that connects people to counsellors.