'Hateful and senseless terror': N.S. Black community left shaken as police continue search for shooting suspects

Families who attended a reunion in Africville -- a historic neighbourhood in north-end Halifax – over the weekend are still packing up their belongings two days after a shooting ended the annual event early.

“My heart aches and it’s painful because we have people that are injured and that’s something they’re going to think about for the rest of their lives,” said Rosalind Braithwaite, who returned to Nova Scotia for two reunions, including the one in Africville.

Police say they're searching for two gunmen who exchanged shots in a crowd of people during the annual reunion, which brings together former residents and their descendants of Africville.

“There were five individuals that were struck by gunfire," said Halifax Regional Police Const. John MacLeod.

All five individuals were taken to hospital, one of which was a teen with life-threatening injuries.

CTV News has been told the injured teen is still in hospital.

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The scene of a shooting in Africville Park was blocked off from the public while Halifax police investigated. (Paul DeWitt/CTV Atlantic)

While community members say the gunmen are not from Africville, some believe people at Saturday's event know who was involved.

“People know who did this,” said Paula Grant-Smith, who attended the reunion. “They say I don’t want to be a snitch. Speak out. It’s time for it to stop.”

In the last 41-years of hosting the Africville reunion, it’s the first time something like this has happened.

“I got up this morning and I cried. I think I’ve cried everyday that I’ve been down here. It was just chaos here. Later [when] I was with my friend, she learned her granddaughter had been shot, niece had been shot, another cousin of mine was shot in the leg,” said Grant-Smith.

Grant-Smith says she remembers hearing the gunshots ring out.

“At first I thought it was firecrackers,” said Grant-Smith. “I ran towards it because my daughter and her husband were there and so were my grandkids.”

“We were so relaxed that we never thought anything like that would happen and now I’m afraid to say some people will not come back [but] I hope they do.”

Tents and supplies left at Africville Park in Halifax following a shooting on July 27, 2024. (Paul DeWitt/CTV Atlantic)

The president of the Africville Genealogy Society, Irvine Carvery, said the incident will not impact future reunions.

“We will not allow the incidents of Saturday to define who we are as a people. We definitely won’t. We are Africville strong," he said.

Carvery said he's holding an emergency meeting Tuesday evening to address safety.

“My recommendation to my board is that we have a safety audit done on this site in terms of what would we need to do to secure this area to make sure that the people that are in here are safe.”

The Association of Black Social Workers has opened a helpline for anyone seeking counselling after the shooting.

The minister of African Nova Scotian affairs, Twila Grosse, said on social media Monday the province's "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims and their families. She adds she was deeply saddened and concerned by the violence.

"We remain committed to supporting the Africville community during this difficult time," Grosse said.

Around 10 p.m. on Saturday, police responded to reports of gunshots at the Africville Park and found five people injured.

Vincent Williams, an organizer of the reunion, wrote in a Facebook post that despite the "hateful and senseless terror" that night, the community will pick up the pieces.

"We will heal by the grace of God," said Williams. And to the people responsible for the shooting, he said, "if you have ancestral connections to our community, you are all shameful and a disgrace to yourselves, families, and community. Our ancestors are rolling in their graves."

“And, let me be clear, your selfish attempt to break us has failed, you are not welcome - and anyone like minded, is never welcomed on our sacred land.”

With files from The Canadian Press

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