Const. David Wynn's family prepare to say goodbye

Const. David Wynn's family are saying their final goodbyes to the seriously wounded officer, his wife says.

“We’re saying our goodbyes today, and then from there he’ll be in a better place,” said Shelly MacInnis-Wynn, flanked by her uncle Duncan MacInnis and Wynn's sister Dawn Sephton at Edmonton's RCMP K Division headquarters on Monday.

Wynn, a father of three, has been unconscious in hospital since early Saturday morning when he was shot in the head at close range while trying to arrest a suspect in a casino outside of Edmonton. He has not regained consciousness and was listed in grave condition.

• Shawn Rehn, alleged shooter of St. Albert Mounties, had history of crime, drug use
• David Wynn 'not expected to survive' after St. Albert, Alta., shooting
• David Wynn, officer shot in Alberta, is a 'huge family man'
• Mounties need more protection after St. Albert shootings, says Kash Heed

MacInnnis-Wynn thanked her husband’s "RCMP family" — particularly his colleagues in the St. Albert RCMP detachment — for their support over the past several days.

"They’ve been our family, because we moved so far from home, for five years — and they have just been there at any time whenever we needed them. And my heart just goes out to them that they have to keep continuing to work through all of this, because I know that they’re grieving as well.

"I was told when Dave graduated how much support we would have through his whole career, but I never really knew … what type of a family the RCMP were [until now]," she said. 

"Dave loved them to death. That was his work family."

MacInnis-Wynn also sent a message to her husband’s former colleagues in Nova Scotia, where Wynn previously worked as a paramedic.

"I’ve told him that you've all sent messages, that you’re there thinking about him."

Support for RCMP officers, staff pours in

Wynn's sister Sephton also spoke, thanking medical workers at Royal Alexandra and University Hospital for their “professional, loving, compassionate care of my little brother."

She also expressed thanks to those in the St. Albert community who have reached out to the family since Wynn was shot. 

"As a family, we would ask you to continue to support and respect the RCMP and the phenomenal job that they do in the service of all Canadians."

In a statement posted on the RCMP's website, K Division's commanding officer thanked Canadians for their support in the wake of Saturday's shooting.

"We have watched the Wynn family handle these tragic circumstances with grace and courage, and this has served as a source of strength for those around them," Deputy Commissioner Marianne Ryan said in a statement.

A second officer, Aux. Const. Derek Bond, 49, was also shot in the arm and torso during the same incident. He was released from hospital on Saturday night.

Shawn Maxwell Rehn, the suspected shooter, was found dead in a rural home hours later. 

Rehn, 34, had an extensive criminal history involving firearms and violence, and had been charged with at least 100 offences dating back to 1994, CBC News has learned.