Alberta RCMP said a shelter in place warning for the Atikameg First Nations and surrounding areas, about four hours north of Edmonton, has now been lifted.
The Mounties issued the “public safety alert” late Tuesday evening during the search for four men who were seen on a highway in the area and were believed to have firearms on them.
A statement from police said the men were last seen on Highway 750 near Nahachick Road and were considered dangerous.
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Police also warned drivers to stay away from the area and not to pick up any hitchhikers.
The shelter-in-place advisory was lifted at around 6 a.m. on Wednesday after the RCMP said three of the suspects had been arrested.
There’s no word yet from police on the search for the fourth suspect, but the investigation is “ongoing” and the RCMP said “an update is anticipated once more information becomes available.”
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— With files from The Canadian Press
Calgary police issue shelter-in-place order during active shooter situation
Leduc RCMP continue to investigate after a car pulled up to another on Highway 2 and a driver was fatally shot.
At around 2:50 p.m. Saturday, RCMP say a white or grey dirty pickup truck was seen pulling up beside a black 2012 Honda Civic on the highway near Township Road 490.
Soon after, police say the pickup truck drove off at high speed.
The Honda Civic pulled over to the side of the road.
According to investigators, the driver was shot and killed.
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Cpl. Matthew Howell, a media relations officer with the RCMP, confirmed to Global News that the driver of the Honda Civic was not alone, but could not elaborate further on the number of occupants or their age.
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Mounties have yet to reveal the identity of the victim, and are still working to identify the suspect vehicle.
It is unclear if the suspect and victim knew one another.
The highway was closed for several hours but it has since been reopened.
Alberta RCMP’s major crimes unit is asking anyone who may know any information or who may have dashcam video to call Leduc RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
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Police in western Alberta were led on a pursuit by a suspect, in handcuffs, behind the wheel of a stolen Alberta Sheriffs patrol vehicle late Tuesday night.
It all started just after 10 p.m. just outside Whitecourt, about 160 km northwest of Edmonton.
RCMP said they were notified that during a traffic stop in which Alberta Sheriffs tried to arrest a suspect, he instead managed to get inside the sheriff’s patrol vehicle and steal it — while already handcuffed.
From there, the vehicle was driven about 100 km southeast, where it was then officers with help from the RCMP’s real times operation centre tracked it down near Gunn on Highway 43.
Police began a pursuit and laid out a spike belt, which the stolen cruiser went over before continuing to fee on flat tires.
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When the damaged Sheriff vehicle attempted to drive into Spruce Grove, RCMP said a Mountie forcefully pushed it into the ditch with their own cruiser.
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But that didn’t stop it, either.
The cruiser successfully drove out of the ditch and went into oncoming traffic. Another RCMP cruiser rammed the vehicle and finally disabled it.
It’s not known if the suspect was handcuffed in front or behind his back, but police said his hands were at the front of his body and still in the cuffs when he was arrested.
A 42-year-old man from Spruce Grove was taken to hospital to be treated for injuries.
He has yet to appear before a Justice of the Peace for his charges to be sworn, but RCMP said the accused has been charged with:
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Flight from police
Escape lawful custody
Theft of a motor vehicle
Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
Assaulting a peace officer with a weapon
Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle
Possession of a prohibited/ restricted firearm
Possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose
Mischief over $5,000
Five counts of failing to comply with release orders
RCMP said the name of the accused can be released once the information is sworn.
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Mounties in Alberta say there’s been an uptick in calls for people with a weapon and school lockdowns since the mass school shooting in Tumbler Ridge.
An RCMP spokesman says that he can’t say with certainty that the increase is connected with the shooting that left nine dead last Tuesday, but it is unusual and Mounties believe people have been more sensitive to the tragedy.
“Having those (calls) in that short amount of time is more than what is standard,” Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said in a phone interview on Sunday.
“We certainly can’t disprove that the recent event in Tumbler Ridge has brought those sensitivities … Obviously, due to the recent extremely unfortunate incident, we’re trying to be accountable to that.”
Savinkoff said Mounties received four calls for a person with a weapon in the last week in the southern town of High River, the northern city of Fort McMurray, in the west-central town of Edson, and in Sherwood Park, a hamlet located east of Edmonton.
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The calls forced several surrounding schools into either a lockdown or a hold-and-secure status for hours, he said.
In lockdowns, students, teachers and staff remain in place until a call has been resolved, while a hold-and-secure status means a school has locked its doors but classes are proceeding as usual.
Savinkoff said only the call in Edson resulted in charges after a suspect threw beef jerky at students while screaming Bible verses and then shot what sounded like a gun three times in front of a principal before fleeing the scene.
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“That firearm ended up being a cap gun and the suspect who is a 39-year-old from B.C. was charged with multiple offences,” Savinkoff said.
Mounties responded to the second call for a student with a weapon a day after the Tumbler Ridge shooting on Wednesday in Fort McMurray.
Although the student was not carrying a gun, Savinkoff said investigators believe he previously brought one to school.
“That investigation is ongoing,” he said.
On the same day, officers responded to a call for a person believed to be carrying a firearm in a Sherwood Park park near two schools, that were later ordered to lockdown.
That report was deemed unfounded.
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“We don’t believe that the caller was trying to mislead police. We just think that they were mistaken,” Savinkoff said.
A fourth call was made to Mounties two days after the Tumbler Ridge shooting.
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The RCMP spokesman said the caller told police a shooter was coming to school that day and Mounties believe the caller was using a software to disguise their voice.
Adam Lankford, a professor in the University of Alabama’s criminology and criminal justice department, says the uptick is not surprising as his research in the United States has found that the emotions people feel after a mass shooting are strong.
“And in some cases, fear may be causing people to overreact or err on the side of caution … so they’re reporting more,” said Lankford, who is also chair of his department.
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“Likely the answer is both.”
Even though the chances of another mass shooting are low, the fear communities feel in the aftermath is high.
“It’s kind of like an earthquake or other natural disasters where what you have to lose is so great that it’s not necessarily reassuring that it is unlikely to happen,” he said.
And while people in the United States or war-torn countries may become numb to certain types of tragedy, in a place like Canada, where school shootings are rare, the fear can linger.
“If you live somewhere with the idea that this can’t happen here, and then it does, it can be kind of shocking to your world view.”
Savinkoff said Mounties are encouraging people to continue calling police guilt-free if they do believe someone is armed.
“Early detection of these incidents is extremely important. It’s truly the type of file where seconds count,” he said.
RCMP in Alberta did respond to the shooting in Tumbler Ridge and so the deaths in British Columbia have hit the service hard, he added.
“Even though it’s a different province, it was close to Alberta so it has been a tough last week for all police.”
Alberta RCMP say one person is dead and more than a dozen are injured after a charter bus hit the median east of Grande Prairie.
According to police, at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, officers responded to the collision approximately one kilometre west of the hamlet of Debolt.
Police said an initial investigation found the bus hit the median and rolled over once, landing on its wheels.
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A total of 37 people were on board the bus, including adults and children. RCMP confirmed in a news release that a 50-year-old woman from Grande Prairie died as a result of the collision.
Firefighters and multiple paramedics were dispatched; they assessed six passengers who were in serious condition and sent to hospital via ambulance. Their conditions are not known at this time.
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A bus was brought in to transport 16 other patients to hospital who were said to have minor injuries. They were released after being checked.
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The remaining passengers who were not injured were transported to the Debolt fire hall.
RCMP collision reconstructionists attended the scene. While the crash is still under investigation, road conditions are believed to be a factor.
Local victim services, alongside the RCMP’s victim and family liaison officers, have been engaged. People impacted by the incident are asked to contact their local RCMP; resources will be provided.
