My thoughts on the murders in our community

In honour of Lawrence Hong, Josh Hunter, Kaitlin Perras, Zackariah Rathwell, and Jordan Segura, flags on all City buildings/properties/facilities will remain at half-mast until sunset the day of the last funeral.

On behalf of all Calgarians, my sincere condolences go out to the family and friends of the five young people who lost their lives so senselessly this morning. My thoughts are also with the University of Calgary as it deals with the impact of this loss to its own community. Our city is one of the safest in the world, and so when we are faced with such violence it can affect us in a very profound way. Every Calgarian is shaken to the core by the loss of good young people just getting started in their lives.

If you are struggling with this horrible news, please call 211 to be connected to resources that can help you. If you are faculty, students or staff at the University of Calgary, support services are available in the University of Calgary Wellness Centre classroom MSC 370. Please do not be afraid to ask for help. The community is here for you.

It is natural to speculate when these types of events occur. We want to know what happened, who was involved, and why the outcome was so horrific. Those details will come out in time as my colleagues at the Calgary Police Service continue their investigation.

For now, I just ask that you take extra care to respond to those around you with kindness and compassion. We all might need a little more of that today.

And, in particular, if you have university students in your life, please give them an extra hug today and let them know you're there for them.

- Mayor Naheed Nenshi