'Beyond shocked': Questions unanswered for family of man shot dead by police in Blairmore

Sister of man shot dead by police in Blairmore seeks answers The sister of a man shot dead in Blairmore Tuesday night wants answers as to why it was necessary to use deadly force. Terry Vogt reports.

Calgary — The sister of Brian Kyle Schriver says she's heartbroken and angry after her older brother was killed by police in Crowsnest Pass earlier this week.

Speaking with CTV Lethbridge from her hometown of Woodstock, N.B, Vannessa Schriver says she's at a loss following her brother's death.

"Beyond shocked. It was the last thing anybody seen coming. It's very confusing."

Schriver says her 30-year-old brother, who had gone by his middle name of Kyle for his entire life, was a welder who had been in the Crowsnest Pass for about a month for work.

"Kyle was a sweet, kind-hearted man. He made everyone smile and was always the centre of attention and was the glue to most people," said Schriver. "His actions sometimes weren't the best choices but we all make mistakes."

On Tuesday afternoon, RCMP attempted to stop a pickup truck in the parking lot of the Blairmore Home Hardware for an undisclosed reason. During the interaction, the pickup truck drove off, went airborne after striking a snowbank and crashed into a ditch along a nearby highway.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) confirms officers fired shots at the vehicle. The driver was found dead inside the truck and officials confirm he had sustained gunshot wounds.

According to Schriver, the man inside the truck was her brother Kyle. ASIRT and RCMP have not released the identity of the deceased.

Schriver says her brother had been with a friend that afternoon and the confrontation with police occurred while the friend was inside a store.

"He actually went into a store to grab something and when he walked out of the store he said the police officers had (Kyle) at gunpoint and just started opening fire," Schriver told CTV News. "He said 'I'm so sorry, Vanessa. There was nothing I could do. If I ran in there they would have killed me too'."

Schriver says the friend's dog was inside the truck at the time of the shooting but the animal was unharmed as it had cowered under the seat. According to Schriver, the friend did attend the RCMP detachment to retrieve his dog that had been impounded as police believed the dog belonged to Kyle.

Schriver concedes that her brother has had legal issues in the past.

"He's been in-and-out of federal prison but it's all been for stupid things," said Schriver. "Kyle is a very simple kid and there's no way other, really, to explain it. He's just a hillbilly that does silly things. That's just Kyle."

"He's never done anything to really hurt anybody or do anything purposely like that."

Schriver is questioning the actions of the RCMP officers and is looking for answers.

"I would like a full inquiry, an investigation opened outside of the RCMP to investigate what happened and the conduct of the officers and why what happened, happened."

ASIRT is leading the investigation into the incident.

With files from CTV Lethbridge's Terry Vogt.