Regina mother condemning gun violence after shooting near her house

A Regina mother is scared to let her daughter play outside after witnessing the aftermath of a shooting.

Trinity Mahin-Smith was minutes from taking her two-year-old daughter outdoors on Saturday after 7 p.m. CST, when she heard a gunshot and saw a group of men chasing someone past her apartment in Greer Court.

She went outside by herself right away — without her daughter — hearing screaming and seeing people in a panic as a group of men ran past her house chasing someone.

The victim ended up near a play structure with people surrounding him while the people chasing him jumped the fence. They put a cloth up against the side of his head to stop the bleeding, and Mahin-Smith called 911.

According to a police news release, it took canine members, SWAT and crisis negotiators to find and arrest three suspects who were later charged with attempted murder.

Kids outside "all day, everyday"

Mahin-Smith acknowledges that drug dealers frequent her neighbourhood and there are occasional situations where people bring weapons around, but noted that Greer Court is a family unit through the Regina Housing Authority where kids are playing outside "all day, everyday."

This makes the violence particularly disturbing.

"I'm home alone with a two and a half year old almost all the time. Now it's to the point where I'm scared to go, I'm scared to take her home. I don't want to let her play outside because I'm scared to even open my door," Mahin-Smith said.

Canada Day scare

Beyond being scared, she's also feeling skittish

There was a 21-gun salute on Canada Day, the day after the shooting, and Mahin-Smith said it "scared the crap out of me. My heart stopped because I thought somebody came and was shooting Greer Court again."

This isn't a single isolated event, she said — it's part of a growing problem.

"At this moment Regina does have a gun problem… We do, and everybody knows it. And I mean, kids shouldn't be witnessing this. Kids shouldn't be, their safety shouldn't be at risk."

Mahin-Smith isn't sure what would make things safer in the neighbourhood. She says perhaps more stringent screening needs to be implemented for people renting in the housing project.