Advertisement 1

Edmonton police respond to 10 shootings in less than two weeks

Article content

Police have responded to 10 shootings in less than two weeks — half of which occurred over the long weekend in public locations, Edmonton Police Service (EPS) says.

In a news release Tuesday, police said while eight of the 10 incidents resulted in serious injuries, all of the victims are expected to survive.

Article content

Firearms calls often demand significant police resources and a large officer response, Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart said in the release, noting that these sort of investigations can take months to complete.

Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content

“Potential loss of life, serious injury and overall public safety are our number one concerns in these situations,” added Stewart, a member of the guns and gangs section of EPS’s organized crime branch. “We are incredibly fortunate that no lives were lost this past week.”

Around 3 a.m. on Saturday, officers responded to a report of a shooting near 82 Avenue and 104 Street, where a woman was shot and then transported in a private vehicle to a hospital where she remains in stable condition, police said.

Police have not yet made an arrest in relation to that shooting, but did arrest a man shortly after — in relation to another shooting.

During the Saturday investigation, officers witnessed a confrontation between a man in his 20s and a group of people in the area, and then saw the man discharge a firearm in the direction of the group, police said.

No one was injured in the second Saturday incident, and officers arrested the 20-year-old at the scene, police added, noting that charges are pending.

At about 6:45 p.m. on Sunday, police then responded to the area of 156 Street and 100 Avenue, where a man had reportedly been shot at a transit centre.

Article content
Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Upon arrival, police administered first aid and assisted emergency medical (EMS) services with a transport to hospital, police said, adding that the man’s injuries were life-threatening at the time.

Also on Sunday, an EPS patrol responded to a weapons complaint near 115 Street and 153 Avenue at 10:19 p.m. Police said it was another shooting and officers found an injured 18-year-old man in the parking lot.

EMS transported the young man to hospital with life-threatening injuries, where he was in “stable but serious condition” as of Sunday night.

A shooting took place early Monday morning at the Sahara Mediterranean Restaurant at 10807 Castle Downs Road NW.Taken on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Edmonton. Greg Southam-Postmedia
A shooting took place early Monday morning at the Sahara Mediterranean Restaurant at 10807 Castle Downs Road NW.Taken on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Edmonton. Greg Southam-Postmedia Photo by GREG SOUTHAM /Greg Southam

The shootings over the long weekend followed five more incidents from Aug. 28-31 that saw four more men end up in hospital.

One of the men was at a party on Aug. 30 where a gun was reportedly dropped and discharged. In separate shootings, two other men ended up in hospital with life threatening injuries, and another man was in critical but stable condition as of Aug. 31.

Officers are investigating whether any of the shootings over the nine-day period are linked.

As of Monday police have responded to 105 shootings in 2022, 53 per cent of which resulted in injuries, and 63 per cent of which had the potential to injure bystanders, police added in the release. As of Aug. 31, EPS has seized about 452 fire arms.

Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

Police Chief Dale McFee acknowledged an “uptick” in gun violence during a police commission meeting in March. The meeting followed an incident that included as many as 70 shots fired outside a north Edmonton lounge killing a man and injuring another six, and the homicide of notorious inner-city Edmonton landlord Abdullah Shah, also known as Carmen Pervez.

“This isn’t just a trend for Edmonton, but this is a serious trend for us that we don’t like the way it’s going,” McFee said during the March commission meeting.

— With files from Anna Junker and Hamdi Issawi

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers