“I’m shocked, I’m angry, I’m deeply saddened by what happened over the weekend,” said Mayor Corrie DiManno. “It has shaken the community to its core and we are concerned and so we want to make sure this does not become a trend.” Ryden William Brogden, 27, of Foothills County was stabbed to death early Saturday after an argument along Banff Avenue. Some people told CTV News it happened outside McDonald’s, but RCMP say it happened outside a bar. John Sproule, 20, of Lake Country, BC, has been charged with second-degree murder. A second suspect taken into custody was released without charge after police determined he was not directly involved in the incident. This comes shortly after 26-year-old Banff resident Ethan Enns-Goneau was killed after what friends called an attack at the Dancing Sasquatch nightclub in the early hours of August 5. They said he was ambushed and stabbed multiple times in the bathroom. This marked Banff’s first homicide in more than 30 years. As for the latest homicide, the Banff Hospitality Collective, which operates several establishments in town, said that because of the proximity, Dancing Sasquatch staff immediately reported the incident to the RCMP. “We are shocked and saddened that in such a short period of time, we are once again confronted with the reality of violence in our community,” the group said in a statement. “We continue to work with our team members and the community to identify opportunities to enhance the safety of Banff’s downtown core.” Over the weekend, RCMP said there was no risk or safety concerns for Banff residents and visitors and that the two homicides were not believed to be connected. Still, community residents like Bayden Barrett are on edge. “Ever since the first one happened, we all try to stick together when we come home at night and a lot of, you know, strength in numbers,” he told CTV News. “I definitely don’t go out that much because it’s crazy. Honestly, the security in some of these places, I really think could be increased a little bit more.” Senator and former Banff mayor Karen Sorensen calls the deaths senseless and tragic. “We’re a tourism-based community, but we’re also home to 9,000 residents and that’s not something we’ve had to think about, frankly, and so it’s been a very difficult few weeks,” he said. he said. DiManno said the RCMP actively patrols the downtown core, including the pedestrian zone, every night. He said the city also recently added a new RCMP officer and is looking to bring in another soon. Banff also has something called Bar Watch, which is a system that allows all the downtown restaurants and bars to be in constant communication with each other. “We want to understand what happened and why they are similar in nature and we want to understand the cause. From there, we want to look at ways we can try to strengthen our security and make it safe for everyone,” DiManno said. She adds that support is being provided to residents and tourists affected by this deadly violence through Bow Valley Victim Services and 211, a mental health service that connects people to counselors.
