More details have been released about an officer-involved shooting at a First Nation. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team announced Wednesday it would be investigating the shooting of one person, and possibly a second, during a confrontation with RCMP.
In the evening of October 21, Maskwacis RCMP received several calls about gunfire on Samson Cree First Nation.
Two responding officers began looking for the individuals involved on foot, and came across them shortly after midnight.
ASIRT said a confrontation occurred between the officers and suspects, during which one officer fired his carbine rifle in the direction of the individuals.
A 21-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the leg was apprehended at the scene, treated by EMS and transported to hospital with serious injuries.
The second suspect fled. A 20-year-old man was later apprehended in a nearby residence. At this time, ASIRT said police saw he had also sustained a gunshot wound to the leg.
He was taken into custody and transported to hospital for assessment and treatment. Neither his injury nor that of the first man was considered critical or life-threatening, ASIRT said.
It was unknown whether the second man was shot during the confrontation with police, or during an earlier shooting on the reservation that could be related to the calls police received.
ASIRT said its investigation will work to clarify the second man’s involvement, and whether RCMP conduct was lawful.
Samson Cree First Nation is located approximately 90 kilometres south of Edmonton.
