Members of the local horse racing industry have commented on the shooting that occurred this past Saturday night (May 5) at Dresden Raceway.

Along with EMS, police arrived at the raceway at roughly 11 p.m. after reports of possible gunfire in the area and found a 58-year-old man with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The area was evacuated and secured by police, according to the report. The man in question was taken to the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance before he was transferred to the London Health Sciences Center.

Lucille Laprise, the president of the Dresden Agricultural Society that operates the raceway, was shocked when she heard the news, according to an article on windsorstar.com.

“Very surprised that anything like that would happen here in Dresden,” Laprise was quoted as saying. “Everybody’s always felt very safe here at the raceway.”

Laprise also praised the work of the police and EMS that arrived on the scene – specially stating that the police did their job very well.

The windsorstar.com piece also contained comments from Gateway Casinos spokesperson Rob Mitchell. Gateway operates the casino that is in close proximity to the track. Mitchell explained what the casino’s response was when it was informed of the situation.

According to a story by the London Free Press, police stated on Monday that they “have no reason to believe that there exists any immediate safety concerns to the public,” and that they “don’t believe that this shooting was accidental in nature.”

Another follow-up story on the situation, by Blackburn News, contains comments from Standardbred racing participant Murray Hyatt, who said that he was surprised to hear about the situation. Hyatt also said that he knows the victim, who he identified as a horseman. The victim is expected to be sent home from the hospital soon.

“I used to shoe horses for him,” said Hyatt, 81. “I was a blacksmith for quite a few years and he was from the Wallaceburg area. Between Wallaceburg and Dresden was where he was raised and he was living, I think, right in Wallaceburg.”

Hyatt went on to say, “I knew him, his brother and his father. I knew his father real well. No, nobody deserves to be shot.”

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Det. Cst. Tremblay at [email protected]. Anonymous callers may call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS it may be eligible for a cash reward.

(With files from windsorstar.com and Blackburn News)