'The hallmarks of organized crime': Man critically injured in Sage Hill shooting

Organized crime believed connected to shooting A Calgary man was shot and seriously injured in Sage Hill on Thursday and police say organized crime is suspected. Mason DePatie reports.

Calgary police are investigating a shooting in the community of Sage Hill on Thursday that sent one man to hospital.

Officers were called to the 200 block of Sage Meadows Green N.W. at 8:30 a.m. for reports of shots fired.

Police say a man in his 40s was found suffering from gunshot wounds.

Paramedics transported the man to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition, EMS said.

Dennis An, who lives nearby, says he heard "popping sounds," which he initially thought came from construction down the street, but worried it might be something "more violent."

"When I peeked out the window afterward, I saw a truck driving away right after, and then there was a tow truck that seemed to have lost control."

A Babylon Towing tow truck at the scene had more than a dozen bullet holes in the side.

An describes hearing six or seven shots.

"It's crazy. This is a very quiet and peaceful area. We have lots of kids playing out in the street here, and it's very family-oriented, so something like this is just surprising."

Shortly after the shooting, police were called to the nearby community of Evanston for reports of a vehicle of fire.

A burnt-out truck with a B.C. licence plate was found in the 100 block of Evansglen Close N.W.

Police say it's believed the two incidents are connected.

Veronica Eje, who lives nearby, says she was the one who called 911 around 8:40 a.m. to report the burning truck.

"I was upstairs working and then I heard a 'pop, pop,' so I looked out my back window and I saw a truck on fire, like the entire cab was on fire. The bed (of the truck) seemed like it was untouched, but the entire cab was in flames."

The burning vehicle was close enough to her property that Eje worried flames might spread to her home.

"I got my kids out as soon as I could," she said.

Another area resident, Casey Ford, described hearing "pops and bangs" before looking outside and seeing the flames.

"We immediately called 911, but they had already received a bunch of calls. The (tactical) team actually pulled up as I was on the phone.

"There was a lot of things exploding, like the airbag flew probably about 20 feet in the air and landed in the neighbour's yard," Ford said.

"It's a pretty safe neighbourhood so you don't really see stuff like this around here."

"It was crazy, I was terrified," said Nadir, who lives nearby.

"It's concerning. This is a very nice neighbourhood, very family-oriented, and when you see things like this, it's just crazy."

Eje says emergency crews were on scene shortly after she called 911.

"They had the flames out really quickly, within about probably 20 minutes or so."

'Incredibly brazen': police

In a Thursday news release, police said although it's early in the investigation, it's believed the shooting was targeted and investigators are exploring the possibility it was connected to "organized crime conflict" in Calgary.

"This incident was incredibly brazen and was witnessed by many Calgarians," said Staff Sgt. Mark Rahnin a news release.

"This shooting has the hallmarks of organized crime, and we’re looking to the public to help us identify who was responsible."

Police are asking for anyone with dash-cam or CCTV footage between 8:20 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. on Feb. 15 in the following areas to contact them:

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at 403-266-1234.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers.