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GoFundMe launched for shooting victim

Father-of-five was fatally shot near Eckville on June 20
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(RCMP cruiser)

A GoFundMe campaign has been started to help the five children of a man fatally shot near Eckville last month.

Jamie Pond has organized the fundraiser and hopes to collect $5,000 to go towards her brother’s five children, who range in age from three to 18 years old. Nearly $1,000 had been collected by Wednesday.

Pond says her brother was driving down Range Road 34 in a pickup with his common-law partner near Eckville on June 20 when a man came out of the bushes and started firing at them from across the road.

Sylvan Lake RCMP said that they had been called to a report of a shooting on Range Road 34 just west of Eckville. An unnamed 46-year-old man was found at scene with life-threatening injuries. He was taken to hospital where he later died.

Police were asking anyone who was in the area of Range Road 34 just north of Highway 11 about three km south of Eckville around the time of the shooting to call them if they saw anything suspicious that morning.

“He did not know this guy,” Pond says in his GoFundMe post. Search Jamie Pond.

“Nothing makes sense and it was so random.”

Pond says her brother’s partner survived the shooting but she is living in fear because the shooter has not yet been caught.

“This guy is absolutely dangerous and still walking the streets. I pray investigators get what they need to find this person.”

Police confirmed on Wednesday that no one has been charged yet in connection with the shooting.

Pond said her brother’s partner is on a fixed income and raising three children on her own. Her brother’s 16-year-old son was planning to go to college or university next year.

“These kids are all hurting. They never had any life insurance, so we are all trying our best to step up for them.”

Pond said her brother had a difficult life, struggling with addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and severe attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) due to trauma.

Despite his challenges, he was a devoted father.

“He was trying to build a relationship with his older two and he was the most amazing hands on dad. He was always fishing, building playhouses, going to the park and so much more,” he says, adding he had bought a home only three months earlier with his partner.

“The person that did this has torn our entire family apart. The pain is unbearable. Hearing the kids cry and tell us they miss their daddy.

“How they now kiss their necklaces with his ashes instead of kissing him goodnight is gut wrenching and brings up that anger towards the guy that did this.”

“Our family is hurting deeply and you can rest assured when we get our day in court, the courtroom will be filled.”

Pond asks that anyone with any information to contact police.

Sylvan Lake RCMP can be contacted at 403-887-3333 or call your local police. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.