Officers have responded to 10 shootings since Aug. 28, including five over the weekend, an EPS statement read Tuesday afternoon. Eight of the shootings resulted in serious injuries, but all victims are expected to live, EPS said. Police believe all of the shootings were targeted and charges are pending in one of the incidents. Resources were “severely impacted” over the long weekend in west, northwest and south Edmonton and EPS had to bring in officers from other parts of the city to assist, the release said. “Calls involving firearms often require a significant amount of police resources, including a larger officer response,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart with the Organized Crime Branch’s Arms and Gangs Unit. “Beyond the initial police response, investigating a shooting can be a lengthy process, often taking several months to complete.” CTV News Edmonton will broadcast a live media availability with Stewart at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
THE SHOOTING
EPS has responded to 105 shootings so far this year and seized more than 450 firearms as of August 31. More than 60 percent of shootings to date “had the potential to injure innocent bystanders.” On Sunday, August 28, police were called to a home in the area of 164th Avenue and 109th Street around 3:40 a.m. after a shot was fired through an apartment door in a suite, EPS reported. No one was injured. A day later, a man was shot in the area of Cautley Crescent SW around 8:30am. Police were eventually called to a hotel in the area of 104th Street and 100th Avenue, and the man was taken to the hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. There were two shootings on Tuesday, August 30. A man was treated for a gunshot wound after a firearm was dropped and discharged at a party during the day. Later that night, a 31-year-old man was shot at a hotel in the area of 153rd Street and 111th Avenue, police said. He was taken to hospital with serious, non-life threatening injuries and the attacker fled before officers arrived. Early Wednesday morning, a man was shot at 107th Avenue and 116th Street while skateboarding, EPS reported. Downtown police officers were called to the hospital after he arrived with gunshot wounds and was in critical but stable condition at the time. On Saturday, Sept. 3, a 20-year-old woman was shot in the area of 82nd Avenue and 104th Street around 3 a.m. She was seriously injured and is in stable condition, according to police. No one has been arrested. While police were at the scene, they witnessed a confrontation between a man in his 20s and a group of people where he allegedly shot them, EPS said. No one was injured and the perpetrator was arrested on the spot. On Sunday, there were two more shootings. A man was shot at a transit center in the area of 156th Street and 100th Avenue just before 7 a.m., police said. Officers administered first aid and the man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Shortly after 10 p.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in a parking lot in the area of 115th Street and 153rd Avenue, the police said. He suffered life-threatening injuries and is hospitalized in stable condition. On Monday, just after midnight, police responded to a restaurant in the area of 108 Street and Castle Downs Road after multiple shots were fired inside and outside, EPS reported. A 25-year-old man was taken to hospital where he is in stable condition. The assailant fled before the police arrived. All shootings are under investigation and EPS is asking anyone with information to call them at 780-423-4567.
