Calgary boy, 5, watches as mother, her boyfriend fatally shot in car
Shooting in northeast residential garage believed to be gang related
A young boy was in the back seat of a car in a northeast Calgary garage when his mother and her boyfriend sitting in the front were fatally shot, in what police say appears to be a targeted, gang-related hit on Tuesday night.
Police were called to 22 Redstone Manor northeast at about 8 p.m. MT where officers found a 38-year-old man dead in the front passenger seat of a car in the attached garage. Sources told CBC News he was Quang Chi Tran, the owner of the home.
A 34-year-old woman in the driver's seat was rushed with a large police escort to Foothills Medical Centre in life-threatening condition. She was later pronounced dead.
Her five-year-old son was not injured in the shooting, said Insp. Don Coleman of the Calgary Police Service Major Crimes Section.
"The female victim is known to police and has a lengthy history of being associated to multiple criminal networks in the city," he said.
"This was not random and at least one of the victims was the likely intended target."
Police continue to seek information from the public as they search for suspects.
The woman and man were in a common-law relationship. Two other family members, including the woman's other child, were inside the house at the time of the shooting.
"It would appear, which is typical in these types of incidents, that the victims were possibly being monitored, arrived at the residence, pulled into the garage, and the attack occurred at that point," Coleman said.
No names are being released until autopsies, set for Wednesday, are completed.
'Only 2 ways out of this lifestyle'
Coleman said the shooting is a reminder about the dangers of associating with gangs.
"I would like to appeal to persons involved in this incident and remind them there are really only two ways out of this lifestyle — either a police-assisted exit strategy or what happened last night," he said.
"There's clearly long memories involved, and your best chance at survival and exiting this lifestyle is to come forward and let us give you a hand."
The shooting has shaken neighbour Ramamdeep Sohi, who spent a sleepless night worrying.
"We are really scared about this incident. It's never happened in this area.…We thought it's a very quiet community, but that is really scary," she said.
"My children are scared too. They say it's like, 'Oh my goodness, like which kind of people live here around us?'"