Calgary police are looking for suspects after a man was found dead in the backseat of a vehicle in the southeast community of Riverbend on Monday morning.
Emergency crews were called to a home in the 100 block of Riverbend Drive S.E. shortly before 11:00 a.m. for reports of shots fired.
When police arrived, they found a man in his 20s with serious injuries inside a vehicle that was parked in the driveway. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We’re four hours in so we’re hoping in the next 24 to 48 hours to have a better idea what’s occurred once witnesses are interviewed, neighbourhood inquiries are completed, CCTV canvassing has been completed, things like that, we’ll have a better idea of what we are dealing with,” said Inspector Don Coleman, CPS Major Crimes Section.
Police continue to look for suspects and say a dark-coloured minivan was believed to have fled the scene.
“There’s some witness information pertaining to a dark-coloured SUV or minivan, we’re not sure which, so we’re hoping that once those neighbourhood canvasses are completed we’ll have a better idea what we’re looking for,” said Coleman.
Susan Thurlow lives in the area and was surprised when she couldn't get back to her home because it was blocked off for the investigation.
Thurlow says the community is a great place to live, but doesn't know anyone at the home where the shooting occurred.
"I know my neighbours on either side of me, but not those people."
Murray Myers also lives nearby and says he came outside to see what was going on after hearing about the shooting on social media.
“It’s a relatively quiet area, you’ve got the playground there and the kids play soccer there at night and there’s schools just down the street here,” said Myers. “Something you expect more in the US than here.”
“It’s concerning for everybody and that’s where the zero tolerance for any type of this activity has to occur so anybody that knows anything at all or has any information, we’d strongly encourage to come forward,” said Coleman.
Riverbend Elementary School, located further down the street from the shooting scene, was locked down as a precaution.
Police believe the shooting was a targeted attack and say there is no ongoing danger to the public.
“There’s some earmarks of, some similarities between other homicides we’ve had but it’s still too early to really determine what exactly occurred or what the motivation might have been,” said Coleman. “There is some incidents that we’re currently exploring to see if they may or may not be related that have occurred in that area but once we get that pieced together we’ll have a better idea.”
An autopsy on the victim, who was known to police, is expected to take place on Tuesday.
“It’s concerning for everybody and that’s where the zero tolerance for any type of this activity has to occur so anybody that knows anything at all or has any information, we’d strongly encourage to come forward,” said Coleman.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to call the Calgary Police Service non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or the Homicide Unit Tip Line at 403-428-8877. Tips can also be left anonymously by contacting Crime Stoppers using any of the following methods:
TALK: 1-800-222-8477
TYPE: www.calgarycrimestoppers.org
TEXT: tttTIPS to 274637
