Saskatchewan RCMP say they have charged Brett McCallum, pictured, also known as Nigel McCallum, with the second-degree murder of Jaden Custer in Pelican Narrows. He was arrested in the Edmonton area on May 23. (Submitted by the RCMP – image credit)
Saskatchewan RCMP say the man charged in connection to a homicide in Pelican Narrows was arrested in the Edmonton area.
Brett McCallum, 31, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 26-year-old Jaden Custer, who was killed in what community leaders said was a drive-by shooting committed by someone on an ATV.
Edmonton police arrested McCallum, who also goes by the name Nigel McCallum, on May 23 in the Edmonton area, according to an RCMP news release. He will be transported back to Saskatchewan for his first court appearance.
The arrest comes just a day after leaders in Pelican Narrows established new public safety measures to deal with increasing violence in the community.
The emergency measures include a ban on all private gatherings, security checkpoints and prohibiting the use of ATVs and other off-road vehicles in the remote community, which is located about 420 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon and is part of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation.
“We should be able to walk down the street in the evening for a walk and not worry about anything; can’t do that now,” PBCN Chief Peter Beatty said at a news conference Friday in Prince Albert.
Residents of Pelican Narrows are also reeling after the recent discovery of the remains of 16-year-old Jay’siiah Webb-Long of Ontario, which were found in a planned search on May 13, more than a year after he travelled to Saskatchewan and then went missing.
Pelican Narrows previously declared a state of emergency that stretched from late 2022 into 2023 amid ongoing violence, which some residents linked to the drugs being brought into the community.
Another state of emergency was declared in 2024, and the chief pleaded for help from the provincial and federal governments.