Police say a suspect was found dead after he shot an officer in southwest Calgary on Monday. The incident began around 11:45 a.m. in Spruce Cliff. According to police, officers were conducting a traffic stop when “an occupant of the vehicle fired shots.” One officer was struck, police say. Police say the suspect—a male—then fled on foot into Edworthy Park. Police tracked him using a HAWCS helicopter. “It is believed the suspect continued to actively shoot at pursuing members and nearby civilians,” police said in a release. “It is believed he then carjacked an individual, driving through the park until the vehicle became stuck.” Police say before officers caught up to the suspect on the ground, he “was located deceased in the river.” The officer who was shot is in stable condition, police say. Before the suspect was found dead, police issued a dangerous-person alert. The public was asked to avoid the area. Nearby residents were asked to remain indoors. Some roads around Edworthy Park were shut down in the aftermath. Shortly before 1 p.m., police posted to social media saying the previous dangerous-person alert was “no longer active.” “Multiple areas at Edworthy Park and area will be closed while our officers continue to investigate,” police wrote on X. “We ask the public to avoid all areas in Edworthy Park.” Karen Freeze-Hrncirik was walking her dog at Edworthy Park when she saw the helicopter high above. Then she saw officers on the ground with her. She says they told her to run and get in her car, but she didn’t arrive in a car and didn’t know what to do. She says she ran behind cars, then behind trees and eventually let her dog loose. The entire time she says she could hear gunfire. She isn’t sure exactly how many shots she heard but says it was “more than I care to hear that close.” “I don’t think I want to go through that again,” Freeze-Hrncirik said. “But [my dog’s] OK; I’m OK; they’re OK.” Freeze-Hrncirik calls the ordeal “unbelievable,” but she feels police ultimately “had it under control.” Nearby resident Amy McLaren agrees. “It’s definitely shaken me up a little bit, but I felt safe the whole time,” she said. “It felt like we had the entire Calgary police force on top of the hill, so I wasn’t too freaked out.” McLaren says she was indoors watching television with her son when the noise of many police vehicles brought her out of the house. She says an officer told her to go back inside and stay there, so she opted to watch from the window. Alex Kwan, public safety officer with Calgary Fire, says crews “were utilized to assist with recovery of the body of one individual.” He says they were also used “to look for additional items possibly in the water upstream of that location.” Investigation continued mid-afternoon Monday at Edworthy Park, and police were asking for witnesses to come forward. Witnesses were asked to approach police at the scene or call 403-266-1234. The province’s police watchdog, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, or ASIRT, has been called in to investigate the incident. Police Chief Katie McLellan says the incident “could have had far more tragic consequences.” “Any time an officer is injured in the line of duty, it affects our entire service and our policing profession,” she said at a Monday afternoon press conference. “Behind every uniform is a person.” McLellan says the local force is “incredibly grateful that our officer is expected to make a full recovery.” Insp. Darren Smith says the officer was struck twice. He says on multiple occasions during the incident, the suspect “discharged rounds at our officers and our officers returned fire.” He says the suspect “was subject to a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” “However, we cannot say whether or not any of our officers also struck the offender—that will be investigated by ASIRT,” he said. With files from Kevin Green
