EDMONTON -- A 27-year-old man was killed in a confrontation with police after a rampage that saw a bystander shot in Blackfalds and a police officer seriously injured on the QEII Highway south of Leduc on Wednesday.
Alberta's police watchdog says it is investigating the incident, which started with a gun complaint in Blackfalds at 8:15 a.m.
RCMP say they were shot at when they arrived at the home, and a woman who was in the area and not connected to the home was struck by a bullet.
The shooter fled north on the QEII and Mounties used a spike strip, causing the fleeing man to cross the median and continue north in the southbound lanes.
When his vehicle stopped, police say a “confrontation occurred, resulting in the death of the 27-year-old male” and injury of a Mountie.
'IT WAS JUST A MELEE'
A Leduc resident told CTV News Edmonton he was able to hear a helicopter from his home, so he went outside. Seeing RCMP vehicles, he decided to go back inside before the situation escalated.
"I heard gunshots," Steve Hutchison said. "I came back out and I actually saw an officer over somebody with his gun drawn and then it was just a melee."
Hutchison said he heard at least six gunshots, but he's not sure who was shot, and added he could see someone receiving CPR.
"It's crazy," Hutchison said. "Obviously it's not something you see everyday out on your backyard."
Both the police member and the Blackfalds woman are in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The nature of their injuries is not known.
OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING
Police didn’t confirm the activity in Blackfalds was related to that near Leduc until Wednesday afternoon.
That morning, the Town of Blackfalds asked residents to stay indoors "due to a police matter," but didn’t say the events were connected.
"For residents of the area, police are advising that you lock your doors and stay in your basements," a statement to the town’s Facebook read.
As it does with any police-involved shooting, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is looking into what happened south of Leduc.
Just before 6:30 p.m., the RCMP said the QEII had reopened to traffic.
