A small community in western Manitoba is reeling from the shooting death Wednesday of one teen, and wounding of another, in what what police now confirm to be a murder-attempted suicide.
16-year-old Meagen Mancheese was shot and killed in a home near Roblin; a 17 year old boy was injured and taken to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where he remains in stable condition in a critical care unit, according to a spokesperson for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Mancheese’s uncle spoke to reporters Thursday outside the property in the R.M. of Hillsburg, just east of Roblin, about 400 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
“She’s a beautiful, smart, happy very respectuful girl and the world loved her, that’s why it’s so shocking, “ an emotional Jamie Maliteare said while embracing Mancheese’s grandmother, Rose Paul. They refused to comment on the circumstances of her death.
“It doesn’t matter who did it. It’s done. It’s done and we miss her.”
In a news release Thursday afternoon, RCMP confirmed many of the details of the tragedy:
"On Wednesday, November 10th, 2010 around 10:00 a.m. Roblin RCMP were dispatched to a home in the Rural Municipality of Hillsburg, Manitoba to investigate a complaint of a shooting.
Police attended the residence and discovered a 16 year old female deceased inside the residence and a 17 year old male suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
On November 11th, 2010 an autopsy was performed on the 16 year old female and the cause of death has been attributed to be a gunshot wound. Her death is being treated as a homicide."
It’s believed the person who called 911 was the 17-year-old, who shot and killed the 16-year-old girl in her own home before allegedly turning the gun on himself.
An internet memorial has already been set up for Meagen on the social networking site Facebook where dozens of friends posted tributes to the teen.
"Everybody in the community knows who we’re talking about and they’re shocked and don’t know what to say, they didn’t see it coming," Bill Gade of local radio station CJSB told Global News.
It’s not known if Mancheese and the 17 year old were in a relationship; in a post on Facebook last month, Mancheese changes her status from "in a relationship" to "single."
Mancheese was a student at Goose Lake High School in Roblin. Officials say crisis councillors will be there when classes resume Friday, to help students cope.
"There are some people that are taking it pretty hard, students are taking it pretty hard," Roblin’s Deputy Mayor Tom Bowley told Global News.
RCMP vehicles remained parked in and around the rural property Thursday.
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