It’s been 22 years since nine people were killed at a Vernon home as they prepared for a wedding.
On April 5, 1996, Mark Chahal opened fire on his estranged wife and her family at a house in the quite Mission Hill neighbourhood of Vernon.
Chahal was armed with two handguns and methodically stalked his victims through the house during the rampage.
In the end nine members of the Gakhal and Saran families were dead along with the gunman himself.
Twenty-two years later the Vernon Women’s Transition House Society still makes a point of remembering the tragedy.
“It is important that we remember it because it is something that changed our community forever. We lost nine amazing members of our community and that loss will always be felt,” Brooke McLardy, the society’s community programs manager, said.
“It is also important to remember because domestic homicide is still prevalent here. We still see at least one case of domestic homicide a year in our area and we also want people living with abuse to know that there are lots of systems here that are ready to respond.”
McLardy said the society has a support phone line for anyone experiencing abuse that is staffed 24/7. It can we reached at 250-542-1122.