Man shot Sunday, woman wearing hijab a witness not target: EPS

EDMONTON -

Police believe an Edmonton woman wearing a hijab was not the intended target of a shooting Sunday evening.

A machete attack between two groups of men at approximately 10:30 p.m. in the area of 98 Street and 156 Avenue led to a chase all the way to 112 Street and 176 Avenue, police told CTV News.

One of the three men in one vehicle shot at the two men in the other vehicle, EPS added.

A man was dropped off at the North East Medical Centre with sharp-edged weapon injuries. He's not cooperating with police.

Police are investigating and they have a lead on the attacker, EPS said.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims reported on Monday, before police, that a white man had shot from inside a motor vehicle at a woman wearing a hijab.

"There isn't enough evidence to state that this is a hate-motivated attack, however, regardless an incident of such nature should be taken seriously," NCCM's communications coordinator Fatema Abdalla told CTV News Edmonton that evening.

However, EPS' Scott Pattison said a female wearing a hijab was a witness but isn't believed to be "the intended target."

"She was apparently out for a late-night walk, and happened to be in the vicinity of the shooting."

CONTINUED CALLS FOR ACTION AGAINST ISLAMOPHOBIA

While the incident is not being considered a hate-motivated attack on the woman, Abdalla noted more than a dozen women have been targeted in racist and violent ways in Alberta's biggest cities in recent months.

In one of the most recent cases, two Muslim hijab-wearing women in St. Albert were knocked to the ground by a man wielding a knife.

"The continuation of these attacks and the ongoing nature of these attacks showcases there is a need for more and a need for more now," she told CTV News Edmonton.

"That is why over the last six months we have been calling for a bipartisan municipal-provincial plan of action against street attacks and Islamophobic street harassment."

NCCM's legal counsel is in contact with woman involved in the June 27 shooting.

Police did not say if charges were laid.