ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — During the years Don Decker and his family have lived on Craigmillar Avenue in St. John’s, the biggest commotion they deal with is the occasional roar of motorcycles as they pass by from downtown, he said.
“You don’t see too much going on here,” Decker, who lives in the lower part of the avenue, closer to Old Topsail Road, told The Telegram Monday. “It’s usually a pretty quiet place.”
Decker said he was shocked Sunday morning when he heard what was happening on his street, his wife having read media reports on websites and social media.
“These are concerning events and if it’s an emergency and of that kind of (serious) event happening in your area, they should put people on high alert.” — Don Decker
The couple was at their cabin 45 minutes away when, at 4 a.m., heavily armed police officers swarmed the area after responding to a report of gunfire. At least one resident reported hearing about four gunshots.
Shortly after, the body of a man — who The Telegram has learned was James Wayne Cody, who was in his 40s — was lying in the street covered with a yellow tarp.
Police consider the death to be suspicious and don’t think the shooting was a random act. RNC officers are working with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.
The investigation is ongoing and police are expected to release more information Tuesday.
Craigmillar Avenue in St. John's has since been reopened to vehicular traffic, but was still closed when Decker and his wife returned home Sunday afternoon. He said they had to park their car on an adjacent street and walk to their house.
Decker said he was disappointed with the lack of information provided to residents. He said people in the area should have been contacted and updated about what was going on during the incident.
“Information was slow coming out from police. Nobody was telling anyone why residents had to stay inside, so we weren’t sure what was going on,” said Decker, who spoke to neighbours about it.
“I know they can’t tell people details early in the investigation, but if there was somebody at large, they should have told us.
“We weren’t getting the whole picture, so that made it tough to know what we were dealing with.”
Decker said in such serious incidents, police should put out an alert, like they do with an Amber alert for missing children.
“It’s a quick way of letting people know what’s happening, in general,” he said. “These are concerning events and if it’s an emergency and of that kind of (serious) event happening in your area, they should put people on high alert.”
A tweet by the RNC at the time asked area residents to remain inside their homes, but didn’t indicate why.
“We are at the scene of a developing situation on Craigmillar Avenue, St. John’s. Residents in the area are asked to 'SHELTER IN PLACE' until further advised. Craigmillar Avenue is closed until further notice,” read the posting.
Securing area
RNC Const. James Cadigan said that when officers arrived on the street, they had little information at that point, so their priority was to secure the area and ensure residents’ safety.
“We certainly see and understand this is a scary situation to (deal with) in your community,” Cadigan said.
“On response, when our officers were able to observe and understand what was in front of them, the first decision was to communicate that we would like residents to stay inside and hold up in their homes until we could get a better idea what we were dealing with.
“Not too long after, we could contain that area and we began the process of investigation, canvassing homes and communicating directly with area residents.”
"The first decision was to communicate that we would like residents to stay inside and hold up in their homes until we could get a better idea what we were dealing with." — Const. James Cadigan
Another Craigmillar Avenue resident, who didn’t want to be named, told The Telegram she was shaken by the incident.
“It was really scary, not knowing what in the name of God was happening down there,” said the woman, who lives further toward Topsail Road. “I heard all the police cars and when you see that, you worry. I didn’t get any more sleep.”
A man, who also lives on the street and didn’t want to be identified, said the sound of gunshots woke him up.
“I couldn’t see what was happening. It was too far down the road, but I saw all the police cars show up,” he said. “But it was pretty concerning. You don’t want something like this happening in your neighbourhood.”
On Monday afternoon, a police car was parked at the lower part of Craigmillar Avenue. The yellow police tape that had been used to seal off the road before it was reopened to traffic at 5:30 p.m. Sunday was still seen still wrapped around a tree and inside the garden of a nearby home.
Police investigators are looking for CCTV or dash-camera footage in the area prior to the police response. Anyone who has information that may assist in the investigation is asked to call the RNC at 729-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Information can also be provided anonymously on the NL Crime Stoppers website at www.nlcrimestoppers.com.
Twitter @TelyRosie
