KEHEWIN – On Wednesday evening at about 7:15 p.m., Bonnyville RCMP responded to a reported shooting in Kehewin Cree Nation that had resulted in a death.
An Emergency Alert was issued, asking residents to stay indoors, make sure their houses and vehicles were locked, and to stay off the road until a suspect had been apprehended by police.
At roughly 10:30 p.m., Bonnyville RCMP and Cold Lake RCMP Police Dog Service members arrived outside a residence in Kehewin where a 22-year-old male suspect believed to be connected to the fatal shooting was located.
“The suspect exited the residence and a confrontation occurred during which officers discharged their service weapons,” states a press release by Alberta RCMP.
“First aid was administered by RCMP officers on scene. Emergency Medical Services attended to provide assistance and the suspect was transported by STARS Air Ambulance to an Edmonton area hospital where he remains.”
No officers sustained injuries during the course of the evening.
Following the incident, Bonnyville RCMP contained the area, and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now reviewing the scene and will be initiating an investigation into the circumstances of the officer involved shooting.
Late Wednesday evening, Kehewin Community Education Centre informed parents and students that classes would be cancelled on Thursday, due to the emergency incident. Other band offices, departments and businesses were also closed throughout the day, Thursday.
RCMP will continue to investigate the circumstances into the initial shooting that resulted in a death on Kehewin Cree Nation.
“The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable,” continued the RCMP statement.
“This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process.”
ASIRT has been directed to investigate the circumstances and actions of the police during this investigation and the resulting discharging of police firearms.
“Independent of ASIRT’s investigation, the Alberta RCMP’s internal review process has been implemented to gather a full account of what took place during this incident,” say RCMP.
“RCMP training, policy, police response, and the duty status of the members involved will be subject to review.”
Alberta RCMP says it is cooperating with ASIRT and will not be commenting further on the incident, according to the police statement.
While Alberta RCMP is unable to comment further on the incident involving police officers now that ASIRT has taken over the investigation, additional details regarding the investigation into the initial shooting are expected to be released later by Alberta RCMP.
