Calgary Police Chief Rick Hanson is supporting the actions of the police officer who opened fire on a suspect in the northwest on Tuesday afternoon.
He says that the officer did so because everyone in the area was in danger because of the sudden, unexpected actions on the part of the suspect.
CTV has learned the identity of the man shot by police. 37-year-old Jason Trevor Harron of Calgary remains in hospital in critical but stable condition. Harron has an extensive criminal history with the majority of his offences related to drugs.
"The reaction from those occupants of that vehicle was totally unexpected and showed a complete and utter disregard for the safety of anyone - the police officers, citizens, that were in the area and this is a high traffic area," he told a conference on Wednesday morning.
Hanson says undercover officers had been keeping track of the suspect's movements for some time prior to the incident at the Bank of Montreal in the Crowfoot area.
Once the suspects had stopped at the bank, uniformed officers approached the vehicle and questioned them. During the course of the questioning, one of the men in the back of the vehicle jumped into the driver's seat and put the car into reverse, striking a police cruiser.
Hanson says the suspect then drove forwards and struck an elderly couple. The suspect then stopped, reversed, and drove forwards again and struck one of the pedestrians a second time.
"The officers realized the pedestrians were in serious risk, and made the decision to stop the driver," Hanson says. "Based on the information I have so far, I am confident that the officer involved made the best possible decision when confronted with a volatile and dangerous situation.
"The officer made a split-second decision based on his belief that the lives of others was at risk."
The couple, in their 70s, were taken to hospital for treatment.
The woman sustained serious injuries when she was pinned under the vehicle. The man only received minor injuries.
CTV spoke with man, identified as Peter Dyck, at the scene on Wednesday morning. He says that he was with his wife when the incident occurred.
"This car started backing up and so we sorta stopped and looked at it. He hit the police car, so then he immediately put it in drive again and tried to get through the truck and the bank. That's where we were standing - we hadn't gone back far enough yet. We couldn't do anything."
He says the suspect vehicle hit his truck, then continued, hitting him and his wife Agnes.
"I landed on the concrete and she flew about 15 feet and landed against the wall there. She was laying there, sitting against the wall and then he backed up and backed over her legs once more and that's when the police got him."
He says the police were already on scene with about three or four cruisers when they came out of the bank. "We just stopped long enough to get hit. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Dyck says that his wife is in good spirits. She is undergoing surgery on Wednesday. to repair several broken bones, including a hip and an elbow.
As for his own injuries, he says his knee is pretty sore, his teeth were broken in several places, and one of his thumbs is wrapped in a bandage. "It could've been worse, I suppose."
The incident unfolded outside a bank near Crowfoot Village at around 4 p.m.
Witnesses believe they heard two shots and thought the worst when they spotted the mass of vehicles at the base of the steps of the bank.
Police say there is no indication that this was a bank robbery.
Witnesses believed one of the suspects was killed at the scene, but officials insist he was taken to hospital in serious condition.
Donna Scott says she saw one man on the ground after the shooting. "I saw the guy on the ground that was shot through the head and I saw them put the other guy in the police car."
Scott says the man who was shot was taken from the scene in a neck brace. "He had blood coming from both sides of his head, so I don't know how it was survivable."
Stefan Danylo was sure the suspect shot by police was dead. "There was blood everywhere and stuff."
Stuart Brideaux, with Calgary EMS, confirmed that a man had been taken to hospital with 'undisclosed injuries'.
Hanson confirmed that the suspect driver is in hospital in critical, but stable condition.
Two other suspects were taken away in handcuffs; a man and a woman in their 20s.
Police remained at the scene until early Wednesday morning.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is now investigating the shooting.
