Ballistics confirm link between Pizza Hut, Edmonton police shootings
Edmonton Police Service investigators believe the 16-year-old boy who fatally shot two EPS officers is the same person who shot a Pizza Hut employee.
Constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan were shot when they attended a family dispute call at the Baywood Park apartment complex at 132 Street and 114 Avenue just after midnight on March 16.
The 16-year-old boy who shot the officers then shot his mother multiple times in a struggle over the firearm, before killing himself, EPS said, adding no other person fired a gun during the event.
The teen's mother is currently in hospital in serious, but stable condition.
On March 12, a Pizza Hut employee was shot while working at the restaurant at 133 Street and 114 Avenue, just one block from the apartment complex.
Security video from the attack shows the shooter entering the restaurant and waving a long-barrel gun, before shooting the employee.
He remains in hospital in critical, but stable condition.
Investigators now say the shooter escaped from the restaurant and ran toward the complex, which is made up of over a dozen buildings, but police were not able to locate him.
"There’s literally 700 residences, and there's a lot of buildings that are right there, so nothing actually was tracked to that building at all," Deputy Chief Devin Laforce told reporters at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.
'THE SAME GUN'
Police say a bullet found at that shooting scene has been forensically matched to a firearm that was found at the apartment where the two officers were shot.
"Investigators believe the suspect in the March 12 shooting to be the same male responsible for the deaths of the two EPS members on March 16," Laforce said.
"The same gun was used in both events, and at this time we don’t have any information that links the gun to any other crimes."
Police are still trying to determine how the teen came to be in possession of the gun, and say that's part of the reason they have not made his identity public.
"How did a 16-year-old obtain this gun? Working backwards, whoever he got that gun from probably faces some criminal jeopardy, and we’re working backwards to try and figure out what that looks like," Laforce said.
Investigators say there was no information to suggest the teen's parents, police dispatch, or Contables Ryan or Jordan knew there was a firearm in the home when the two officers responded to the call.
MOTHER COOPERATING
The teen's parents, including his father, who was also in the apartment at the time of the shooting, are cooperating with the investigation, Laforce said, adding his mother is not yet able to speak.
"She can't talk, so right now the communication has been by written communication. Obviously we want to continue to interview her, and that’s going to happen when she’s released. She’s expected to recover."
Autopsy results released on Thursday concluded the teen died from a single gunshot wound to the head, which was called consistent with being self-inflicted.
Investigators say it will take more time to receive toxicology reports on the teen, so it's too early to know if he had any substances in his system at the time of the shootings.
Police also confirmed Thursday that the teen had been taken into custody under the Mental Health Act after a call to the apartment in November 2022.
"We can now share that this youth was apprehended under the Mental Health Act by our officers, and that was after consultation with our PACT, our Police and Crisis Teams," said Supt. Shane Perka. "The youth was then transported to the hospital for assessment. I can’t speak any further as to the outcome of that assessment."
Perka added police have yet to obtain full details about the teen's medical history.
Investigators are also in the process of investigating the teen's electronic devices, which they believe might shed light on a motive for the shootings.
"There's other exhibit items, such as our shooter’s phone and a computer that we're actively searching and trying to get into, and as we learn more we'll have some answers we hope."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire' are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.