A six-year-old girl has died from injuries sustained during a police intervention in the northern Quebec community of Inukjuak, a tragic outcome that has shaken the Nunavik region.
Details of the December 20 Incident
The fatal sequence of events began in the early morning hours of December 20. According to Quebec's independent investigation bureau, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), officers from the Nunavik Police Service exchanged gunfire with an individual outside a home just after 3:30 a.m.
During the intervention, two civilians were seriously injured. Inukjuak Mayor Bobby Epoo identified them as a 35-year-old man and the young girl. Authorities confirmed the child's death on Tuesday, December 31, ten days after the shootout.
Ongoing Investigation and Community Reaction
The BEI has taken over the investigation as is standard procedure for police-involved incidents resulting in death or serious injury. A critical unanswered question is how the child was wounded. Investigators have not disclosed whether she was struck by a police bullet or gunfire from the other individual.
The 35-year-old man involved in the alleged exchange of fire with police was arrested. He is now facing charges, including illegal possession of a firearm.
Community leaders have expressed profound sorrow. Maggie Emudluk, Chairperson of the Kativik Regional Government, issued a statement calling the girl "an innocent victim of a sad tragedy." The statement underscores the deep grief felt across the remote region.
A Community in Mourning
The death has cast a pall over Inukjuak, an Inuit community located on the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. Such incidents of violence, particularly one claiming the life of a young child, are rare and devastating in the close-knit northern villages of Nunavik.
The BEI's investigation will seek to establish a precise timeline of events and determine the circumstances that led to the girl's fatal injuries. The findings will be closely watched by the community and officials alike, as they grapple with the aftermath of this profound loss.
