Shooting victim Larry Wellman 'a person who would help anybody'

Close friends and former colleaguesof LarryWellmandescribethe 63-year-oldas funny, charismatic, and someone who died doing one of his defining traits: stepping up to the plate, to help someone in need.

Wellmanwas fatally shot Saturday night, after intervening in an armed robbery at a hotel bar in St. John's.

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"He was never a reactionary person and I'm sure he wasn't on Saturday night. Larry would've assessed that situation, and probably said, 'Igottadefuse it,'" saidlong-time friendGerryWhelan onMonday.

'Larry did the right thing'

Wellmanwas born and raisedin Corner Brook, where he was a firefighter from 1974 to 1986, before moving to St. John's to pursue a different career. But that first-responder instinct never left him, saidWhelan.

"I spoke to his children about this yesterday. We all agreed, regardless of what people think of somebody doing something like that at the time, and maybe even making the situation worse, that Larry did the right thingbecause he was Larry," saidWhelan.

Whelansays he,Wellman's two children, and their extendedfamily are in shock over the loss of such a vibrant man.

"[He's] probably one of the funniest guys on the planet. Probably one of the brighter people that you'll ever run into," he said.

Firefighters in shock

Wellman left a lasting impression among the ranks of the Corner Brook Fire Department.

"He was a really good firefighterand someone you could depend onwhen you were fighting a fireor at an accidentor whatever it was," recalled firefighter Bob Joseph. "And if you were down, he'd always try and find a way to make you laugh or try and cheer you up."

Firefighter GeoffTulk says Wellman's cheeky humour took the edge off his first day on the job.

"Larry came out to meand said, 'I'm gonna teach you all the ropes of firefighting now,' and he handed me a mop. And I looked at him and said, 'What's this for?' And he said, 'One of your first duties here, is you gotta keep this place clean.' And from that day forward, Larry was always the type of guy who didn't mind playing tricks. He kept everybody's spirits up," said Tulk.

Both fire fighters said they were shocked to hear of Wellman's death, but not surprised by his actions.

"Larry was the type of guythat if he [saw] an injustice done, he wasn't just going to sit by and allow it to happen," said Tulk.

Joseph added, "Larry was always therefor us and we always hoped we'd be there for him. It's sad that this happened to him."

A wake up call

Gerry Whelancalled his friend's death a wakeup call for crime in the city.

"People in St. John's have to start understanding that this is in your neighbourhood. Whether it's in the east end, west end of St. John's, whatever it is, things are happening there at a rapid rate with crime," he said.

"It's just not the police that can solve this. Neighbourhoods have to get together and understand if you see crime happening, you see things that are unusual, you need to step up to the plate yourself."

Whelan, who lives in Halifax but is originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, and spends a lot of time in St. John's, said public safety is going downhill.

"I saw a big change in what's going on in St. John's, and a criminal element that's taken over. Unless neighbourhoods and people demand from government and from city council and the police, and seek their help as one group of people, this is only going toget worse and escalate in St. Johns, " he warned.

WhelansaidWellmanwas naturally inquisitive and a person who would often question injustice.

"I'm sure that night in question, on Saturday night, he was asking those questions," saidWhelan."He was asking why this was taking place, or asking to stop it, and the result is, he's now dead."