The investigation into Calgary's 14th homicide of the year is being hampered because of a lack of eye witnesses, say city police.
Dexter Stanley Stephen Bain, 36, was shot while working at Our Place Pub and Grill at 3709 26 Ave N.E. around 3:30 a.m. Saturday.
Bain, a bartender at the pub, managed to stumble to the front door where customers aided him, one of them running to a nearby convenience store to get a clerk to call 911. Bain died a short time later.
Police said they believe three people entered the bar through the back door, approached Bain and shots were fired.
At least three people were in the bar at the time of the shooting – two of them Bain's acquaintances and the third a regular bar patron – waiting for Bain to close up shop. But none were able to help police identify the shooters.
"They heard the shots and there was some frantic discussion, along the lines of, ‘We've got to get out of here,' that was overheard by other witnesses outside the premises," said Kevin Brookwell with the Calgary Police Service.
It's unclear how the three culprits gained access to the bar, whether it was a break and enter, or whether Bain let them in.
Brookwell said police are trying to pinpoint a motive.
There is no indication that Bain was involved in anything illegal, say police, and other business owners in the strip mall were familiar with Bain. He would often go to the convenience store to pick up bar supplies and was always polite, they said.
Days after the shooting, loved ones left flowers and words of remembrance outside the pub. Bain leaves behind a 16-year-old daughter, family in Ontario, and a grieving girlfriend who also worked at the bar.
Anyone with information related to the incident is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
