The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating after RCMP members fired shots at three thieves as they tried to arrest them in the Sylvan Lake area for a series of crimes in a stolen vehicle Friday afternoon.
Mounties received a number of complaints in regards to “erratic driving and threatening behaviour” involving a stolen vehicle.
Sundre RCMP said three men in a vehicle rammed into another vehicle, and the civilian was subsequently struck by one of the thieves after he stepped out of his vehicle.
The same vehicle was seen in Rocky Mountain House in the middle of the afternoon, but attempts to stop it were unsuccessful, police said.
RCMP then attempted to stop the vehicle north of Sylvan Lake at approximately 4:25 p.m. Officers deployed a spike belt successfully, the vehicle turned around, and shots were fired by police.
A Blackfalds man driving home from work witnessed the arrest attempt, and caught it on video with his dash cam.
“At first I was like ‘OK, that’s funny, police is chasing somebody,’ Tomasz Gorny told CTV News. “I just kept driving home, but the moment I heard shots fired, that was the moment I realized the situation is really serious. …You can hear exactly six shots being fired.”
Two of the three occupants fled the scene and broke into a residence occupied by a family with young children, police said. They did not steal a vehicle, but got away with cell phones. The two men then broke into an adjacent farm house and stole a pickup truck.
RCMP blocked the vehicle and the men rammed into police.
Officers then discharged their firearms again.
All three thieves were located. Two were taken to the hospital with injuries.
No charges have been laid.
ASIRT is investigating the shots fired by police, and RMCP is investigating the crimes committed by the three men.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to contact RCMP. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from Angela Jung
