Alberta RCMP is on the lookout for two suspects involved in a double shooting that left one person dead and prompted a shelter-in-place order Aug. 6 for a rural county east of Calgary.
The shelter-in-place order was lifted at 4:30 p.m. MT, approximately three hours after it was put in place, because investigators no longer believed the “armed and dangerous” suspects were in the area, Strathmore RCMP Staff-Sgt. Mark Wielgosz said at an evening press conference.
“We will leave no stone unturned to identify these subjects,” he told reporters. “Our neighbouring detachments are exercising an extra heightened state of vigilance to ensure… we are identifying them as quickly as possible.”
Officers from the Strathmore detachment responded to the scene near the intersection of Range Road 282 and Township Road 250, approximately 10 kilometres east of Calgary at noon where they found two gunshot victims, one dead and one with “superficial” gunshot wounds, Wielgosz said.
The motive for the shootings remains under investigation, Wielgosz said, noting that the identity of the deceased would not be released at this time.
The suspects fled the scene of the shooting in a white half-ton pickup truck that was part of Rocky View County’s fleet, Wielgosz said. The truck was traced to a secondary site roughly 12 kilometres north of Strathmore, prompting officers to initiate searches of nearby properties for the suspects.
An emergency alert was subsequently issued, advising individuals in the area to shelter in place as The RCMP Emergency Response Team, Calgary police tactical units, police service dogs, and air services searched the area.
“There was extensive search of all of the neighbouring areas and properties... to ensure that we could conclusively say [the suspects] were no longer there,” Wielgosz said.
The emergency alert did not contain a description of the suspects because their appearances remain “under investigation,” he said, adding that police do not yet know if they are male or female.
“We are diligently working through what video footage that we do have,” he said. “As soon as we have that information to share with the public… we will do so immediately.”
Police also don’t have any information on the possible whereabouts of the suspects or the kind of vehicle they might be driving now. They are asking people who were in the area around midday to check dash cam and trail cam footage for images of a white Rocky View County fleet vehicle.
