Moment of silence held for victims of Lynn Valley Village stabbing

Photo: Julie Durnan

Business merchants at the Lynn Valley Village complex were invited to lay down flowers in remembrance of the victims of a tragic stabbing during a moment of a silence held Friday.

Dozens of merchants and staff who work at businesses in the Lynn Valley Village complex gathered for a moment of silence and a musical tribute to remember the woman who lost her life and the victims whose lives were impacted during a brazen and seemingly random knife attack two weeks ago.

The Reclaiming the Village event was held Friday morning.

The tribute was organized by Julie Durnan, who runs Restoration Health Clinic located on the third floor of the village complex near the library.

“We had some witnesses run up in tears to our clinic,” said Durnan, referring to the tragic attack on March 27 where seven people were stabbed by a 28-year-old man inside and outside the Lynn Valley library located in the village complex. “Our team was quite impacted. My team didn’t want to go to work the next week.”

While honouring the victims of the stabbing spree, as well as the impact it had on the families and the community at large, yesterday’s event was also meant to help the people who work at businesses in the Lynn Valley Village complex reclaim the space for themselves, infuse some joy back into the village, and send a message that they occupy a safe place to work.

“They requested this," said Durnan, “something to address the needs of the actual workers.”

The purpose was to bring everyone outside and for merchants and staff to have a united moment to remember the tragedy and remember their strengths, said Durnan, who provided some brief introductory remarks at the outset of the event to remind all the merchants that they were in this together.

Following the moment of silence, Lynn Valley resident and singer-songwriter Amanda Wood-Cook performed three songs for those gathered – “Hallelujah,” “Rise Up,” as well as the national anthem.

Merchants and business owners were then invited to place flowers in the centre of the plaza into a large chalk-drawn heart.

“There was not a dry eye in the plaza,” said Durnan.

North Shore Emergency Management’s virtual Wellness & Resiliency Centre is still open to support people in the community impacted by the tragic event.