City councillor reacts to violence in Pleasant Hill

The city councillor for Saskatoon’s Pleasant Hill neighbourhood is praising community members for coming together in the wake of a spate of violent incidents.

“There are no easy answers. If there were, it would all be solved by now. But I think we absolutely need to engage with police and the work they’re doing,” Ward 2 councillor Hilary Gough said Monday on the Brent Loucks Show.

The neighbourhood has seen a heightened police presence following the death of 31-year-old Mark Enwaya, who was found shot March 12 in an alley off the 100 block of Avenue Q South.

Following Enwaya’s death, police urged pedestrians in the area around St. Paul’s Hospital to be alert and avoid walking alone at night amid worries that innocent people were getting caught up in gang-related violence.

Gough said she felt police were providing the right balance between protecting the public and not overblowing the concerns.

“They also are reminding us that this isn’t something that is overrunning our community or something that is warranting us having to stay indoors or lock ourselves away,” she said.

The Pleasant Hill Community Association is hosting a public forum on crime March 29 at Station 20 West. Gough said this was the type of community engagement needed to help keep communities safe.

“For me, the key is that this needs to be work that we all do together. I’ve been really impressed to see the Pleasant Hill  Community Association rally together and there’s a meeting planned for next week,” she said.

Two teenage boys charged in Enwaya’s death appeared Monday in Saskatoon Provincial Court. Both boys had bail hearings adjourned to later dates.