Moncton shooting - social media takes centre stage

By now all of Canada has been galvanized by the shocking shooting death last night of three Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in Moncton, New Brunswick and the subsequent manhunt for the suspect, Justin Bourque (Facebook page. Warning: disturbing content.) Two other officers were injured in the shooting, and the suspect remains at-large.

As much as there is so much to say about this latest example of senseless violence among a string of similarly senseless cases, I find myself struggling for words. I'll never understand what goes through the mind of someone who would swing a rifle over his shoulder and head out with the express intent of ending the lives of others. We can try to explain acts like this until we're blue in the face, but there can never be a rational reason for any of this.

Still, the journalist in me needs to write. Needs to understand. Needs to explain. Because deep amid the chaos of what's playing out in Moncton today, there's opportunity for us to learn and carry forward. And as much as it might seem odd for a technology journalist to weigh in on a criminal case, it turns out there's ample opportunity to discuss that angle, as well.

Yahoo Canada just published my article, and I look forward to your thoughts after you've had a chance to read it:

Moncton terror: When a shooting goes social

Additional resources:

Dear RCMP New Brunswick... (blog entry)
Moncton: It's over (blog entry)
New Brunswick RCMP masters at social media management (Canadian Press story by Michelle McQuigge)