Murdered

Early Wednesday morning there was some excitement in the small town where I live (pop. approx. 35,000). One of the tool and die makers at the manufacturing plant I work at was shot to death outside a local pub (a place that I used to frequent when I was younger). Details are still sketchy, and a motive is not clear at this time.

The suspect who killed this man was arrested by police, and was shot in the process. His injuries were not life theatening, and his first court appearence is scheduled for today. He is charged with first degree murder, along with other charges.

I worked with the victim on occasion as my job as an engineer is to design things that in many cases our people made in the shop. He was a volatile person in some respects, likely due to his body-building hobby, which many suspected involved the use of steroids. He was known for being a bit wild, so many here speculate that other drugs have been a part of his life as well. He had been off work for many moons due to "personal problems" that I don't have many details on. He was 40 years old, divorced, and had sole custody of his 9 year old daughter - very unfortunate incident for the daughter, of course.

His mother called the plant yesterday afternoon to inform the company that it was her son who was shot - she told our HR people that he was shot 6 times in the back........hard to imagine in some respects. I am used to this sort of thing happening in other places (mainly the US, but also in larger Canadian cities). To put this in perspective, this is the first murder in this town since 1993........