Driver who sped through parade barricade in Calgary has no extremist links

[daftandbarmy]

Police say driver who sped through parade barricade in Calgary has no extremist

Calgary police say national security partners are investigating, but they don't believe there are any links to extremist activity after a driver ignored police barricades and attempted to drive toward a military parade downtown on Saturday.

An officer fired shots in an attempt to stop the vehicle, and Alberta's police watchdog has been called in to investigate.

Sixth Avenue S.W. is closed between Fifth Street and Seventh Street S.W., and Sixth Street S.W. is closed between Fifth Avenue and Ninth Avenue S.W., as of 4:15 p.m. The closure was expected to remain in place for several hours.

At 2:50 p.m. a driver drove through police barricades in the 600 block of 8th Avenue S.W. toward members marching with the 41 Service Battalion Freedom of the City parade, police said.

Officers tried to block the car with a patrol vehicle, causing the driver to pull a U-turn and attempt to flee.

An officer then fired shots at the vehicle, which continued to 6th Avenue and Sixth Street S.W. where it collided with a bystander's vehicle before coming to a stop.

He started driving toward me, toward the intersection … that's when [officers] opened fire.

    - Greg Kucharski, witness.

The driver and the passenger of the vehicle were taken into custody.

The driver, a 22-year-old man, and the passenger, a 28-year-old woman, are in hospital in stable condition. EMS could not confirm if the injuries were caused by gunshots.

Police, pedestrians and the occupants of the bystander vehicle weren't injured, police said.

The officer who fired his gun was a 12-year member of the service.

Kucharski said he saw other pedestrians duck behind pillars as the shots rang out.

"There was broken windows from where the bullets hit the car. He kept driving … it is pretty crazy to see something like that."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/downtown-calgary-shooting-1.5327848?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar&fbclid=IwAR3mxjxlo6-pOYVyD4JOhh_c76BRsaJdSuworvZJ4L4pIJm880rizjving4

 

[Colin Parkinson]

So he was just a run of the mill dirtbag?

 

[Journeyman]

Obviously spooked by those drums beating, colours unfurled, and bayonets fixed. 
"Soldiers with guns. In our cities. In Canada. We did not make this up."  It's coming to pass... as prophesized.  :nod:
            anic:
Kumbaya... before it's too late!



Yes, the increasingly mindless election rhetoric has pushed me over the edge.  :facepalm:

 

[MilEME09]

The one time im not on parade something interesting happens....... anyway latest reports indicate the vehicle was stolen, it is perfectly possible they stole the vehicle, and thought the barricades were to stop them from getting away.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

The latest from the Calgary Sun:

Calgary police, national security probe vehicle incident and shooting near Forces members on parade

Zach Laing

Published: October 20, 2019 Updated: October 20, 2019 2:33 AM MDT

The Calgary police are working with their national security partners after a car drove towards a military parade in downtown Calgary Saturday, causing an officer to fire shots at the vehicle, injuring its two occupants.

Police said late Saturday night the incident, which saw a 22-year-old man and 28-year-old woman sustain gunshots wounds, isn’t believed to have any links to extremist activity “at this time.”

The incident occurred around 2:50 p.m. in the 600 block of 8th Avenue S.W.

One witness said he saw a vehicle driving on the sidewalk before it slammed into a building, followed by gunfire.

Jung Kim said he was in the back of the Meshi restaurant on 8th Avenue when he saw a vehicle driving on the sidewalk, then he heard a boom.

“That sound was the car hitting the wall, then after the shooting sounds maybe three times, then after that the car was on the sidewalk,” he said.

Officers were in the area providing support for the Canadian Forces 41 Canadian Brigade Group march through the core as part of the battalion’s Freedom of the City parade.

As soldiers marched, police said a small black sedan driving north on 6th Street turned east on to 8th Avenue, heading toward the parade and dodging barriers that had been erected. Officers attempted to block the car with a patrol vehicle, prompting the car to perform a U-turn and flee the area.

One officer, a 12-year member of service, opened fire on the moving vehicle, which continued on two more blocks before colliding with a civilian vehicle at 6th Avenue and 6th Street S.W. and coming to a stop.

Police said both the vehicle and its licence plate were stolen in separate incidents.

The driver and passenger of the car, a male and a female, were taken into custody. They were later transported to a hospital to treat gunshot wounds that were believed to be minor, AHS spokesperson Nathan Dasuki said. Neither occupants of the bystander vehicle nor the pursuing officers were injured.

Emily Scott, who lives on 6th Avenue S.W., said she didn’t see the crash but she did see a man and a woman fleeing from the wrecked car.

“The two people in the car tried to run away. There was a guy and a girl, and they went into a parking lot (west of 6th Street on 6th Avenue),” she said.

“We saw police go after them, then the girl was laying down in the parking lot, she wasn’t moving. The guy was bloodied up. He has blood all over his hands and his arms.”

Second Lt. Jean Doyon, unit public affairs representative with the local battalion, said some 40 to 50 soldiers with the 41 Canadian Brigade Group were within 10 metres of the vehicle as it drove toward them.

“Regarding our troops, all I can tell you is there’s no injuries reported,” said Doyon, adding some of the members were sent to Calgary police headquarters to be interviewed.

“We were stopped for five to 10 minutes, then we carried on.”

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said on Twitter he was grateful no one was injured in the incident.

“I am glad that the @CanadianForces 41 Canadian Brigade Group and everyone in downtown Calgary are safe after the incident today. We are monitoring the situation and are thankful for the quick response from the @CalgaryPolice,” he said.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the province’s police watchdog, confirmed it would be investigating the officer-involved shooting but provided no further details Saturday.

    "ASIRT has been directed to investigate a @CalgaryPolice officer-involved shooting that occurred this afternoon and resulted in serious injury. Details to follow.
    — ASIRT (@ASIRT_AB) October 19, 2019"

Several blocks in the city core were shut down for many hours as part of the investigation.

Calgary police said late Saturday it would provide no further information “during this point in the investigation.”

With files from Alanna Smith

zlaing@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @zjlaing

Link

 

[brihard]

The latest from the Calgary Sun:

Link

That’s consistent with what I’m hearing from a buddy in Calgary Police. Couple of idiots in a stolen took a hilarious wrong turn and encountered the parade barricades. They spooked because they were in a stolen and hopped up on the sidewalk around the barricades. Stoleen running from police is nothing new, it might as well be Alberta’s provincial sport. But in this case it made them look exactly like a vehicular threat and they got lit up. Oops.

 

[Good2Golf]

Play stupid games...

 

[brihard]

Play stupid games...

Stupid prizes are the best prizes.

 

[Good2Golf]

Stupid prizes are the best prizes.

:nod: Indeed

They’re lucky, all things considered.

 

[brihard]

:nod: Indeed

They’re lucky, all things considered.

In relative terms, yes they are.

 

[Jarnhamar]

I wonder if  city police get training on shooting through windows.

 

[brihard]

I wonder if  city police get training on shooting through windows.

Likely not... I don’t expect anyone other than maybe tactical teams are trained to stop vehicles by shooting them; on the contrary the policy for pretty much everyone is to *not* shoot at vehicles. To stop a vehicle being used as an active threat, I would suppose they just dumped rounds into the driver’s compartment and hoped for effect.

 

[daftandbarmy]

I wonder if  city police get training on shooting through windows.

It's hard to shoot through the window of a moving car. The rounds can easily miss, for obvious reasons, or can bounce off (go safety glass!) and hit bystanders as well.

It's definitely a 'last resort' thing....

 

[Haggis]

It's hard to shoot through the window of a moving car.

Depends on which side of the glass you're on.  ;D

 

[mariomike]

Never a 12 gauge slug around when you need one. 

 

[The Bread Guy]

Charges laid ...

Police have charged a man and a woman who they allege were in a stolen vehicle when an officer shot them during a downtown military parade over the weekend.

Alberta’s police watchdog has said several roads in Calgary were barricaded, but a man driving a 2008 Toyota Corolla and a female passenger rounded a corner and attempted to drive through.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says the vehicle went through a cycling lane onto the sidewalk and then struck a building.

The agency says an officer fired three shots when the car allegedly drove on the sidewalk towards two officers.

Calgary Police say 21-year-old Bogdan Ferdinand Diordiev faces seven charges, including dangerous driving, failing to stop at the scene, flight from a police officer, possession of stolen property and driving without insurance.

Alanna Mae Steeves, 28, of Calgary, is charged with drug possession ...

More @ link