VIGILANTE VIOLENCE SHAKES SERENE N.B. TOURIST TOWN

Grand Manan, the pretty archipelago in the Bay of Fundy, is typically
tranquil, best known for its pudgy puffins and mouth-watering lobster.

It's a sleepy tourist destination and, for those who call it home, a
peaceful place where people are used to leaving the doors unlocked at night.

But residents' anxieties over creeping drug problems in the community
sparked a violent, vigilante attack against suspected dealers on the
weekend -- and many are concerned that others will take the law into
their own hands.

"For the most part Grand Mananers are rational people," Mayor Dennis
Greene said. "But I believe that people felt they had taken all they
could take. I hope this was a one-time thing. But I believe it could
happen again."

What did go down in the midnight hours last Saturday was more fitting
of the urban jungle or a Martin Scorsese film than of a fishing
community that lures tourists with its serene seashore.

As many as 50 residents, ranging in age from twentysomething to
fiftysomething, got together and launched an attack on a group of
about 10 locals who the vigilantes suspected of dealing drugs from a
house in the tiny community of Castalia, on the island's eastern shore.

Participants on both sides brandished guns, baseball bats and knives.
The battle rumbled over four hours into the early morning. Three of
the island's four RCMP officers were on duty and tried to break up
what turned into a raging street riot, but they could not stop the
vigilante gang from setting fire to the suspected drug den. As
volunteer firefighters worked to douse the flames, the vigilantes
hurled rocks at them; the house burned to the ground and more than a
dozen people suffered minor injuries during the fights. Gunshots were
also fired, though no one was hit.

The RCMP have sent a handful of extra Mounties to the island to help
with the investigation and keep the peace.

Sergeant Greg MacAvoy said it was too soon to know who among the
island's 2,700 residents was involved and he wasn't sure whether
charges would be laid.

"If there are charges we'll deal with it but really we want to help
the community heal," he said. "It's a lesson in how things can go off
the rails. You hope that in the clear light of day that people who
were involved have had time to have a sober second thought and say,
'Hey, maybe we went a little overboard.'

"It's pretty hard to condone violence of the level that escalated to
Saturday night. You can understand that people get frustrated and to
the end of their rope. I'm betting a lot of the people involved in
this were acting completely out of character. But things don't have
to get that extreme."

Police said yesterday they took one man who was a resident of the
targeted house into custody early yesterday on charges not related to
Saturday's riot or drugs.

"There's some relief with that," Mr. Greene said.

The mayor, who is 63 and moved to Grand Manan from another New
Brunswick island, Campobello, when he was 10 years old, criticized
the justice system for handing out lenient sentences to those charged
with drug offences in the community.

"The police are doing a fine job but we're being let down by the
justice system, which gives criminals more rights than victims," he
said. "I've seen drug dealers sentenced to house arrest. Well, what
do you think happens then?"

The residents, who apparently met to discuss their attack several
weeks earlier, may have burned an SUV that belonged to one of the
suspected dealers earlier this month -- "a message that didn't get
across," Mr. Greene said.

Some members of the vigilante group were parents who suspected their
children had bought drugs from the targets of the attack. Marijuana,
crack, cocaine, ecstasy and prescription painkillers are all
prevalent in the community, said several residents contacted
yesterday, who also said they were afraid to give their names. One
man referred to the targeted house as a "crack house."

It has been a rough couple of years for this island that relies
largely on the fishery and tourism. More than 160 people lost their
jobs when a sardine plant closed early in 2005, the aquaculture
industry has been battling a virus, and the spring lobster catch was down.

"I hope people know that this was a one-time thing and that Grand
Manan is a safe and peaceful place that's open for business," Mr. Greene said.

"This is a way of life we're not used to here. I never locked my door
at night, but in the last year or so, even if I'm just going a few
doors away to the hardware store, I will lock my door. With
unemployment the way it is, sometimes people get into things, like drugs."