A 16-year-old armed with a gun wounded his mother, killed two police officers, and then took his own life early Thursday in western Canada.
The shootings occurred in Edmonton, Alberta, after two police officers arrived at the scene of a domestic dispute at around 12:47 a.m.
The two police were fatally shot not long after their arrival.
The teen’s mother was then shot and severely wounded. She remains in stable condition in the hospital.
Edmonton Police Chief Dale McFee said there was no indication that the two officers were able to return fire.
McFee said other officers sent to the apartment found the young suspect died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
McFee identified the deceased officers as Travis Jordan, 35, who had been with the Edmonton force for 8.5 years, and Brett Ryan, 30, who had been an officer for 5.2 years.
“I can’t tell you how devastated we are with their loss,” McFee said.
Ryan is remembered as a pillar of the community and a longtime youth league hockey referee.
Darcy Carter, with the Spruce Grove Minor Hockey Association, said Ryan and his wife were expecting a child.
He was a paramedic before he became a police officer, and was passionate about his work in the police, Carter said. “That’s something that I’ll never forget … just his face lighting up when he talked about his job.”
Jordan was remembered for his kindness.
Jessica Shmigelsky said she was driving to work after a heavy spring snowfall in 2020, and Jordan pulled her over because her snow brush wasn’t working. But instead of giving her a ticket, he cleaned her car, she said.
“He did his job, and he did more than what his job really entailed,” Shmigelsky said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his condolences and support to the officers’ loved ones and colleagues via Twitter.
“Every day, police officers put themselves in harm’s way to keep people safe. The news that two Edmonton police officers have been killed in the line of duty reminds us of that reality,” Trudeau wrote.
The killings are the first for the Edmonton Police Service since 2015 when Constable Daniel Woodall was shot numerous times while using a battering ram to enter a residence. Another officer, Sgt. Jason Harley was struck by a round that penetrated his body armor but survived.
Before that, Constable Ezio Faraone was fatally shot while responding to an armed robbery in 1990.
