10 shootings in 9 days has 'severely impacted' EPS resources

The Edmonton Police Service says its resources are stretched as officers investigate several shootings in late August and early September.

Police officers have responded to 10 shootings since Aug. 28, including five during the long weekend, an EPS release read Tuesday afternoon.

• 2 overnight Whyte Avenue shootings under investigation
• Man shot in Castle Downs Monday morning

Eight of the shootings resulted in serious injuries but all the 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" during the long weekend in west, northwest and south Edmonton, and EPS had to bring in police officers from other parts of the city to help, the release read.

“Calls involving firearms often require a significant number of police resources, including a larger officer response,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart with the Guns and Gangs Section of the Organized Crime Branch.

“Outside of the initial police response, investigating shootings can be a lengthy process, often taking several months to complete."

THE SHOOTINGS

EPS has responded to 105 shootings to date this year, and seized more than 450 firearms as of Aug. 31.

More than 60 per cent of the shootings to date "had the potential for innocent bystanders to be injured."

On Sunday, Aug. 28, police were called to a home in the area of 164 Avenue and 109 Street around 3:40 a.m. after a gunshot was fired through an apartment door into a suite, EPS said. No one was injured.

A day later, a man was shot in the area of Cautley Crescent SW around 8:30 a.m. Police were eventually called to a hotel in the area of 104 Street and 100 Avenue, and the man was taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries.

There were two shootings on Tuesday, Aug. 30. A man was hospitalized with 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 153 Street and 111 Avenue, police said. He was taken to hospital with serious, non-life threatening injuries, and the shooter fled before officers arrived.

Early Wednesday morning, a man was shot on 107 Avenue and 116 Street while he was skateboarding, EPS said. Downtown officers were called to hospital after he arrived with gunshot wounds, and he was in critical but stable condition at the time.

On Saturday, Sept. 3, a woman in her 20s was shot in the area of 82 Avenue and 104 Street at approximately 3 a.m. She sustained serious injuries and is in hospital in stable condition, police said. No one has been arrested.

While police were on scene, they witnessed a confrontation between a man in his 20s and a group of people where he allegedly shot at them, EPS said. No one was injured and the shooter was arrested on scene.

There were another two shootings on Sunday. A man was shot at a transit centre in the area of 156 Street and 100 Avenue just before 7 a.m., police said. Officers administered first aid and the man was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Just after 10 p.m., an 18-year-old man was shot in a parking lot in the area of 115 Street and 153 Avenue, EPS said. He sustained life-threatening injuries and was 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 rounds were fired inside and outside, EPS said. A 25-year-old man was taken to hospital where he is in stable condition. The shooter fled before police arrived.

All the shootings are under investigation and EPS asks anyone with information to call them at 780-423-4567.