Between 20 and 30 rounds fired during north Edmonton drive-by shootout: EPS

Police in Edmonton believe as many as 30 shots were fired between the occupants of two vehicles during a drive-by shootout in north Edmonton last Friday.

Police responded to the shooting in the area of 97 Street and 137 Avenue on March 31 around 4:30 p.m.

Officers held a news conference Thursday to provide an update on the case that saw a 30-year-old man shot and Asser Asser, 23, charged with five gun offenses.

"The brazenness is totally unacceptable. We have two vehicles that were racing up 97 Street for a span of eight blocks, involved in a gunfight between the two vehicles," said Acting Insp. Eric Stewart of the Edmonton Police Service's Organized Crime Branch.

"The obvious concerning part of this is we know these individuals had a total disregard for our public when they were chasing after each, involved in this shootout."

Officers located a white Toyota Camry that was involved shortly after the shooting but a black Hyundai Sonata has not been found.

Police initially said a gun was found in the Camry, but corrected that Thursday to say it was located on the shelves of a nearby Shoppers Drug Mart, where they believe the occupants of the Camry tried to hide it.

Police said the man who was shot was the driver of the Camry and has since been released from hospital. He has not been charged.

The vehicle police say is connected to the March 31 drive-by shooting in northwest Edmonton. (Source: EPS)

No other injuries were reported.

"There definitely is a targeted motive to this," Stewart said, adding officers are still investigating gang possible links.

"It's not our innocent bystander out there targeting each other. These are people involved in some sort of criminality."

There have been 46 shootings in Edmonton so far in 2023, a 40-45 per cent increase over last year, Stewart said.

The gun involved in the shooting is undergoing ballistics testing to see if it has been used in other crimes, similar to what was done recently to link the fatal shooting of two officers to an earlier crime at a Pizza Hut.

Police are asking anyone with dashcam footage of the shooting or anyone who witnessed it to contact them at EPS at 780-423-4567 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).