Supplies stolen from memorial park for Nova Scotia mass shooting victims

Two 700-pound steel beams, delivered to build a bridge to connect the memorial sites of two women killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting, were reported stolen on Friday afternoon.

Police are investigating after two 18-foot, 700-pound steel beams were stolen from the Heart’s Haven Memorial Park in Debert, N.S., a 16-acre park being built to honour the lives of two women killed in the Nova Scotia mass shooting in 2020.

The two beams were supplied to develop a bridge to connect the memorial sites of Kristen Beaton and Heather O’Brien, two health-care workers who were both killed in the area on that day.

Nick Beaton, husband of Kristen Beaton, took to Facebook on Friday and offered a cash reward for further information that would lead to the whereabouts of the stolen items.

RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Andrew Joyce says police received a report of the theft around 3:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

“The reported value is about $2,000 each for each beam,” he said. “The theft is believed to have occurred between April 14th and the 17th.”

Darcy Dobson, daughter of Heather O’Brien, posted on the park’s Facebook page on Friday and encouraged the community to reach out if they had additional information.

“These beams are 700 pounds each and would have needed a trailer and more than one person to load,” she said.

The park, which will feature walking trails and a playground, has plans of fully opening to the public in August.