WESTASKIWIN, Alta. – Debbie Buffalo has so many questions about the night her five-year-old grandson was shot and killed as he slept in his bed.
Perhaps the biggest question: Why?
Three youths have each pleaded guilty to manslaughter for taking turns firing a rifle at a home on the Samson Cree reserve in Hobbema, south of Edmonton, in July 2011. One of the shots went through the wall and hit little Ethan Yellowbird in the head.
The teens, who can’t be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, are to appear for a sentencing hearing today in Wetaskiwin provincial court.
Some details of the shooting have already been revealed, but there have been no facts about motive. All RCMP have said is that the teens had ties to gangs.
Once lawyers argue over appropriate sentences, the three youths will each get a chance to stand up and address the court. Buffalo is looking for them to take some responsibility, maybe even apologize.
“It’s going to be a hard day, no matter what,” said Buffalo, adding she and her son Lee Buffalo, Ethan’s father, will also be presenting victim impact statements to the judge.
She said she has written briefly about how the child’s death has affected everyone. “It has devastated our family. It’s been so hard for all of us.”
Court has heard the three teens — 13, 16 and 17 at the time — were hanging out at one of their homes and came up with a plan to walk over and shoot up the house.
The oldest teen fired one shot above the home, then passed on the gun to the two other boys and walked away. They each fired two bullets at the house and it’s unclear which one struck the boy.
The child had been sleeping in his tiny fire truck bed at his father’s home when one of the bullets ripped through the wall above his mattress and hit him in the head.
His father’s girlfriend woke up screaming. She and Lee Buffalo and their one-year-old child had all been sleeping in a bed next to Ethan.
The teens picked up the shell casings outside, dropped them into a hat and ran off. They then broke the rifle into two pieces and hid them outside near some tree stumps.
The Samson reserve has been plagued for years by gangs and violence. Two months after Ethan was killed, his aunt was gunned down outside the home next door. RCMP have yet to make an arrest in her death.
Mounties previously blamed the violence on about a dozen gangs fighting over the drug trade. They pointed to a “code of fear” that often kept witnesses from talking about crimes.
But Ethan’s death seemed to turn the tide and residents began talking. RCMP said last November that, despite ongoing gang activity, the use of weapons and drive-by shootings was down.
However, there was another fatal shooting on the reserve just last month. A 16-year-old boy was killed and a 19-year-old arrested and charged with second-degree murder.
Band councillor Kirk Buffalo said the reserve may seem “dysfunctional” but it’s rich in culture. And he sees things changing for the better.
He said he hopes the guilty pleas from the three youths in Ethan’s case will show the community that it’s important to take responsibility and make amends.
The two youngest accused remain in custody. The oldest, now 19, is out on bail and has appeared in court before with his girlfriend and a baby.
He was recently granted a community conference before a restorative justice panel, which came up with sentencing recommendations. The report is to be filed with the judge but the recommendations aren’t binding.
Crown prosecutor Trent Wilson has said he plans to ask all three teens serve the maximum youth sentence for manslaughter — two years in custody followed by one year of supervision.
Debbie Buffalo said no sentence will be enough.
“It does’t matter. Even if they get the maximum sentence, I know that’s still a joke as far as the family’s concerned.”
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