Cambridge Bay (Jan 15/07) - Still reeling in the aftermath of a horrific triple homicide, community members in Cambridge Bay say the hamlet will heal, eventually.

Keith Atatahak and Kevin Komaksiut of Cambridge Bay, and Dean Costa, originally from Edmonton, died Jan. 6 after being shot with a semi-automatic rifle.

Kevin Komaksiut is seen fixing his snowmobile last year in Cambridge Bay. He was one of three people killed in a shooting incident on Jan. 6. - NNSL file photo

Two others were wounded in the incident. Christopher Raymond Bishop, a 21-year-old, faces numerous charges in connection with the shooting. He appeared in court in Iqaluit Friday.

"Everybody still seems to be in shock. There seems to be a numbness," said resident Harry Maksagak. "We still have to carry on, we still have to go to work, we still have to go get (groceries). The air is just very heavy."

In a small town where everyone knows everyone else, nobody is far removed from the grief felt by the families.

Maksagak knows Atatahak and Komaksiut's relatives and said he encountered Atatahak's grandmother in the days after the shooting.

"I gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek and just asked her to take care of herself," Maksagak said.

"As much as you want to say words of comfort to the people who are remaining, it's very difficult to find the words to bring them consolation." But that act at least lets family members know they aren't alone, he said.

In the wake of the killings, police, nursing staff and councillors went into the community's two schools, both to help students cope with the tragedy and to defuse rumours, said Paul Theriault, principal of Kiilinik High School.

"We went around to all of the classrooms at the high school and essentially we gave the students all of the facts as they were known at the time," he said.

Cambridge Bay's two schools have three professional counsellors between them and Theriault said they've fielded a few questions from students but there hasn't been an "overwhelming response."

Theriault described the mood around town as sombre, but added he's seen a "drawing together" of people in the hamlet.

Cambridge Bay mayor Michelle Gillis said in a brief telephone conversation Wednesday she had been meeting with the victims' families, and asked for further questions to be forwarded to her via e-mail.

On Thursday, she declined to answer those questions.

"It has been extremely difficult for all of us to deal with," Gillis wrote in an e-mail. "I have done an interview... already and want to respect those families affected."