Dartmouth rally held to stop violence, support homicide victim's family
Rickey Walker, who died Thursday, saved a man from drowning, participated in peace rallies
The family of a man shot to death this week thanked neighbours for their support during a peace rally Saturday in Dartmouth.
Dozens gathered to march and remember Rickey Walker, 48, who died Thursday after calling 911 to say he had been shot.
"It's really sad that something like this brings people together," his sister, Bettina Wog, said.
"This has got to stop. We have to all pull in together, and we have to stop it because it's just not right."
'We're not going to take this'
Participants began their march from John MacNeil Elementary School on Leaman Drive, where Walker was found. They included many who never met him, such as Dartmouth North MLA Joanne Bernard.
"Somebody made a choice a couple of nights ago to pull a gun and to shoot somebody," Bernard said at the rally.
"We're here today to say we're not going to take this, and we're going to take our community back."
'Too far out of hand'
Walker's death, ruled the ninth homicide in the Halifax area this year, was killed just over a week after 26-year-old Tylor McInnis was found dead.
Ceasefire Halifax, a violence-reduction group, organized Saturday's gathering. It has plans to recruit members for community response teams this month in an attempt to better prevent violence.
"The violence has gotten way too far out of hand. I mean, one is too many, but this is just crazy," community mobilizer Amanda Bradshaw said.
'Never one to give up'
Those who knew Walker remembered a kind friend, a good co-worker — and also a hero. He once received an award from St. John Ambulance for rescuing a drowning man, his sister said.
"Rickey just fought to get down there and get him. He said it was so dark down there, he couldn't see anything but he did pull him up," Wog said.
"He wasn't giving up. He was never one to give up. He was a really, really good guy."
'Defies all explanation'
Bernard noted that just in the last week, the "resilient" community marched to remember another homicide victim, Jason McCullough. In 1999, the 19-year-old was shot while walking through a Dartmouth park, now named in his memory. McCullough's death remains unsolved.
"Rickey was someone that was harmless, that did everything for everybody, was very proactive in the non-violent community, in peace protests and it just defies all explanation," Bernard said.
"It's a devastating time for his family, for the community."
With files from Steve Berry