As the community begins to come to grips with the first homicide in 23 years, reactions are coming in, with many opinions being shared on social media.

"We're aware, of course, in this day and age there's been a number of posts circulated on social media and Snapchat and that and at this point, nobody, including the police, has the complete story and all of the facts," said Deputy Chief Rod Stafford of the Weyburn Police Service.

The victim of the home invasion, Keegan Muxlow, is currently charged with second-degree murder for his part in an incident on January 4 in Weyburn that took the life of 18-year-old Nathan Hutt.

Police are in possession of a Snapchat video that Muxlow allegedly took around the time of the incident. There have been unconfirmed reports that Hutt also posted a video to Snapchat around the time of the incident. Police are asking anyone with any information, including related social media posts, to contact the Weyburn Police Service or Crime Stoppers.

In relation to social media posts, Stafford is asking people to respect the privacy of the families involved.

"Allow them to deal with their loss and to grieve without blame or trash being circulated and to keep your comments to yourself until the facts become known or you're certain of something because, while social media can be a benefit to us certainly in an investigation in terms of things that are posted or whatever that may give us an angle to look at or further questions to ask, it can also be very dangerous and very hurtful in circumstances like this."

He urged people to not take sides in the matter.

"It just polarizes the community and that's something we don't need at a time like this," shared Stafford.

Mayor Marcel Roy echoed Stafford's sentiment.

"Right now there's a lot of emotions, a lot of opinions being out there on social media, and our police department is very efficient, our city is still very safe, and we still have one of the best communities to live in and it's unfortunate that sometimes things just end up happening this way," shared Roy.

"Our thoughts are with the families," Roy said.

Stafford said police appreciate the support from the community as the investigation has had an effect on officers, many who directly know the families involved.

"It's always difficult in a smaller community when you do know the people. I mean, it's certainly difficult for the community and the families, but it affects our officers too because, again, we do know these people. We've dealt with them for good or ill over the course of years and watched them grow up and it can't help but have an effect on our officers as well and we're taking steps to help them deal with that as the investigation goes along."

 

READ MORE: Details of Home Invasion and Homicide Investigation Come to Light