It seems to be happening more and more frequently, people with weapons letting their frustrations out on innocent people.
Dublin, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Santa Barbara, just a sampling from the last month.
But not in Canada, right?
Wrong.
Within the last few months five university students were stabbed to death in Calgary, a cyclist was shot while taking part in a race near Spences Bridge and last week three RCMP officers in Moncton were gunned down.
But not in the Okanagan Valley, right?
Wrong.
What about the individuals who massacred birds and a beaver in a local park, or the pipe bomb that exploded outside of a Penticton house last week?
Sick people, frustrated people and just plain stupid people are slipping into the cracks and doing things the rest of civil society knows is wrong.
Who needs a gun? Who needs to build pipe bombs? What justifies killing wildlife for the sake of killing wildlife?
There may be no easy answer to the problem, but it is evident the problem will not go away on its own.
We need to talk about this as neighbours and as Canadians.
Those who dare call for stricter laws around weapons are accused of fear mongering or otherwise referred to as bleeding heart liberals.
For those who are prone to such tactics, just remember the next randomly chosen bleeding heart may be yours or that of a loved one.