The mood was sombre at Burnaby RCMP headquarters Tuesday and officers wore blue ribbons pinned above their hearts after one of their own was killed in the line of duty.

Const. Shaelyn Yang, 31, was fatally stabbed Tuesday morning while helping a city parks employee check on a man living in a tent at Broadview Park.

“This is an extremely difficult and tragic day for the B.C. RCMP and the members of the Burnaby detachment,” said Dwayne McDonald, the commanding officer in B.C., who offered “our heartfelt condolences to Const. Yang’s family, extended family, friends and colleagues.”

Yang lived in Richmond, where she was an active volunteer, he said. In 2019, she became a police officer.

“Those she worked with before joining the RCMP and her police colleagues describe Const. Yang as a kind, compassionate person, which makes her loss even more difficult to accept,” he said.

“She was a loving wife, a sister and a daughter.”

Yang was killed during a confrontation while working as a liaison to those dealing with homelessness and mental health issues.

“Shaelyn embraced that job with passion,” said Graham De La Gorgendiere, the Burnaby RCMP detachment commander. “She found value working with this team and working with those struggling in our community.”

Grief counselling was being offered to officers under a tent in the detachment’s parking lot, along with bottles of water.

B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said he was informed that a female Burnaby RCMP officer was killed while on duty, calling it “absolutely tragic and horrific.”

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