Fatal shooting by Edmonton police under investigation by ASIRT
CBC News | Posted: December 26, 2018 11:41 PM | Last Updated: December 27, 2018
Neighbours report hearing succession of gunshots
Edmonton police shot and killed a 34-year-old wanted man Wednesday afternoon after an "incident" in the city's east end.
Officers were following the man in a vehicle at around 2 p.m. during a surveillance operation, Insp. Trevor Hermanutz told reporters outside police headquarters late Wednesday.
The man had several outstanding warrants and police believed he was armed and dangerous.
Officers conducted a traffic stop with the help of a tactical unit in the area of 79th Avenue and 71st Street, near the Urban Village condo complex. Two people in the vehicle got out without incident.
The man with outstanding warrants remained in the vehicle and refused to co-operate, Hermanutz said.
"An incident took place between the suspect male and responding officers," Hermanutz said. "Officers subsequently discharged their service weapons and struck the 34-year-old male."
The man was treated by EMS and taken to hospital where he was declared dead.
The two passengers who left the vehicle were not injured, Hermanutz said.
No EPS officers were injured.
Police said they will not comment further as the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now in charge of the investigation.
A red Chevrolet SUV, taped off by police at the scene, appeared to have several bullet holes on the passenger side door.
Alanna Johnson was visiting her children, who live across the street from the condo complex. Johnson told CBC News she heard what sounded like 10 gunshots in quick succession.
"It was very scary," she said.
"They were quite loud. I thought they were right out on the street. So I jumped down to the ground right away and grabbed my daughter and said, 'Stay down because I don't know where these shots are coming from,' " she said.
In a tweet, ASIRT said it will follow up with more details later.