Kennebecasis Valley — A local father of the bride is embarrassed and chagrined after causing a panic this past Saturday night in Rothesay. Forty-eight-year-old Kennebecasis Valley resident Daniel LeBlanc set off a lockdown and social-media firestorm as he was on his way to the evening wedding of his 18-year-old daughter, Emily. Now, LeBlanc is apologizing for the concern and confusion that his actions caused, calling the whole ordeal a “huge lapse in judgement.”
On Saturday, July 4, an officer with the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force reported a male possibly carrying a long gun heading into the woods near School Avenue. The risk of a roaming gunman resulted in the Emergency Tactical Services asking residents to stay indoors while officers performed a precautionary sweep of the area. Meanwhile, Facebook and Twitter ignited as K.V. citizens speculated and tried to confirm the report. After finding no sign of an armed man, officers declared an all-clear around 9:30 p.m.
“I believe I know what happened,” said LeBlanc. “You see, I grew up in a suburb of Salisbury, and there is a tradition in that area when a young man and a young woman get in a ‘family way.’ My daughter and her boyfriend already had decided to get married and make a go of it, but there is a custom regarding what the father of the bride brings to the wedding of such a young family to make sure the couple goes through with the ceremony. It was a more of an old joke than anything else that apparently got out of hand.
“I believe the officer saw me getting ready to go to the church. I had to go check on some… special plants… that I’ve been cultivating in the woods before I left. By the time the officers were searching the woods, I suspect that I was already walking my beautiful daughter down the aisle. While they were saying their vows, the shotgun was safely secured with a trigger lock in my pickup truck. My Labrador Retriever, Tater, was watching over it from the passenger seat the whole time.”
When asked about the “shotgun wedding” portion of the ceremony, LeBlanc became embarrassed. “I didn’t actually bring it into the church of course, and it definitely wasn’t loaded. I just thought it might be funny to get some wedding pictures with it and Tater in a totally, safe way.
“When I sprung the idea on my daughter, she became very upset and put the kibosh to the whole joke. Apparently, she did not see the humour in the idea at all. But hey, she was raised in the Kennebecasis Valley and things are a bit different here than how I grew up. For example, if K.V. was like where I was raised, there sure as hell wouldn’t be a deer over-population problem, if you catch my drift.”
LeBlanc is cooperating with authorities and may yet be facing charges related to the event. In the meantime, he has been released and is helping prepare for the birth of his first grandchild. “Thanks so much to the men and women of the Kennebecasis Regional Police Force for their hard work and decisive action. I can see now how this whole joke was a terrible idea, and honestly I’m still in the doghouse with my daughter. Apparently camouflage tuxedos aren’t funny to her either. That said, I’m still laughing about that! You should have seen their faces!”