Man charged with 2 counts of 2nd-degree murder in Grande Prairie shooting

Curtis Phillip Halladay is being charged with two counts of second-degree murder following a public alert in northern Alberta over the weekend.

RCMP have now charged 42-year-old Curtis Phillip Halladay with two counts of second-degree murder after a shooting in Grande Prairie County in the early hours of Saturday.

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Officers responded to reports of a shooting on a rural road in the area of Range Road 35 and Township Road 730. Upon arrival, emergency crews located two people dead, who have been identified as 54-year-old David Lagace and 44-year-old Michelle Lagace.

Initial investigative efforts by police on scene were able to determine a potential suspect.

The Alberta RCMP Major Crime Unit took over the investigation and issued a public alert to warn the public of the possible danger the suspect posed, being that he was armed.

Police told CTV News Edmonton that the suspect’s mental state also warranted the alert.

Shortly after 1 p.m. Saturday, police located the suspect’s vehicle in a rural area near McLennan, Alta., where the Alberta RCMP Emergency Response Team took Halladay into custody.

Halladay has been remanded into custody and is to appear in court on Jan. 8.

“This investigation saw the rapid deployment of a significant amount of police resources managed by the Alberta RCMP Real Times Operation Center in order to promptly investigate the offence, warn the public, and arrest this dangerous individual, “said Staff Sgt. Todd Wiebe of the Alberta RCMP Major Crimes Unit in a statement. “Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the victims.”