RED DEER -- Alberta RCMP say one man has died and suspects are at large following a targeted shooting at a Red Deer Walmart.
The 69-year-old man was shot in the entrance to the Walmart Superstore in the city's south end at around 6:45 p.m. Friday. He was rushed to hospital with a serious chest injury but later succumbed to his injury.
Const. Shelley Mashiem confirmed police were looking for at least two suspects, and local authorities indicated there may be two suspect vehicles involved. She said the scene around the Walmart had been contained and was no longer an active scene.
No one else suffered injuries despite reports on social media that multiple people were injured, RCMP said.
The store was locked down and people inside took to social media to say the store was locked down until the scene was cleared.
The City of Red Deer asked people to avoid the area while police conducted their investigation.
Red Deer RCMP told CTV News there was no risk to the public.
They said there would be a police presence in the area through the night and into the morning and specialized units were being dispatched.
"We were out doing our shopping and we were about to start heading to the tills when they came over the PA system," he said. "Pretty much to the gist of, we have a situation in the parking lot and RCMP are on the scene and they request that everyone stays away from the front end of the store."
Customers were asked to move to the back of the store and stay away from doors and windows, Collins said.
"It was a busy place. I'd say there was easily 300 people in there," he said.
He did not hear any gunshots, he said.
"To be completely honest with you I was confused more than anything," he said. "You go around and you kind of get the same reaction from a lot of the other people in the store, people were kind of looking at each other like 'Did I just hear that right?'"
He said customers maintained their calm while they were locked down in the store for about an hour. Police ushered them out of a back exit at around 7:45 p.m. and those whose cars were in the cordoned-off parking lot were offered transportation by bus back home.
"They were taking things very seriously," he said. "My biggest takeaway from the whole thing was that it seemed to me that everything was handled very well. At no point did me or my son feel like we were in any kind of danger."
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Red Deer RCMP at 403-391-4034 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.