More than 100 people gathered in front of the Port Alberni Friendship Center on March 29 to honour the memory of Clifton Johnston. The 20-year-old man from Port Alberni and Ahousaht had been found suffering from stab wounds on the front steps of the centre two days earlier; he succumbed to his injuries.
JohnstonB次元官网网址檚 mother, Iris Clarke, invited friends and family to a candlelight vigil to remember her son. She had arrived from Abbotsford the previous Wednesday and dropped her son off for a visit, she said.
She thanked everyone who gathered at the centre on Fourth Avenue and lit candles in JohnstonB次元官网网址檚 memory. B次元官网网址淵ou all give me strength,B次元官网网址� she acknowledged.
Clarke held a stuffed bee in her hands and told the crowd how Johnston, a graduate from Alberni District Secondary School, had dreams of becoming a beekeeper. She lay the bee and some flowers on the rocks near the place where her son passed away.
Nuu-chah-nulth elder Wally Samuel Sr. spoke to the crowd, talking about family. B次元官网网址淚 ask everybody to look out for each other,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲e all have family.B次元官网网址�
Samuel asked the communityB次元官网网址檚 youth to B次元官网网址渃heck in with your familyB次元官网网址lease be safe.B次元官网网址�
Elder Tim Sutherland Sr. led a brief blanketing ceremony, offering some of JohnstonB次元官网网址檚 friends blankets from the family for comfort and support. Both Samuel and Sutherland had attended the centre Saturday evening and performed a cleansing, not realizing at that time that the young man for whom they grieved was actually related to them. They found out later, once the family was notified.
Wednesday afternoon the Port Alberni RCMP announced that a suspect had been arrested, but since charges had not been laid they were not going to release the suspectB次元官网网址檚 name. Detachment commander Insp. Eric Rochette said the incident appeared to be isolated, where the suspect and victim were known to one another.
The incident was not brought up directly at Monday nightB次元官网网址檚 vigilB次元官网网址攐nly memories of Johnston and messages of condolence and support to family members who attended.
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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