Police investigating after man shot dead near front steps of northwest Calgary home

Police are investigating and continuing to search for a suspect after a man was shot and killed near the front steps of a northwest Calgary home early Saturday morning.

Officers responded around 3:50 a.m. to the 1700 block of 18 Avenue N.W. for reports of a person in medical distress, police said in a release issued Saturday.

Upon arrival, officers discovered a man suffering from what appered to be gunshot wounds.

The man was declared dead on scene.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Police say they're looking for a red, early 2000s Pontiac Sunfire sedan that was spotted in the area at the time.

SCARIEST MOMENTS

A resident in the Capitol Hill neighbourhood who didn’t wish to be on camera told CTV News that it was one of the scariest moments they’ve ever experienced.

“We were woken up in the middle of the night and heard a lot of loud yelling outside, then we heard what sounded like a gunshot and went to the window,” the neighbour said.

“When I looked out the window there was a car driving away fast down the street. It’s just really sad and shocking that someone died right near us.”

A shooting took place a little before 4 a.m. on the 1700 block of 18 Avenue NW

Police taped off the entire street and lined it with evidence markers where shell casings had fallen from the shooting.

The body was removed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as investigators took photos of a large pool of blood that could be seen on the front porch of one of the homes.

Tabby Gerlitz has lived in the area for more than 20 years and says she’s concerned with the trafficking of drugs and the nearby homeless population.

“I fear for my safety every day, the city in general is becoming completely terrifying every time you turn around it seems,” she said.

“Homeless people and suspicious people are sitting on my bench and following us around so this doesn’t surprise me. This is just something that’s kind of becoming an everyday occurrence between here and North Hill Mall.”

Others like Rishav Dalui are also worried about the safety of their family.

“When we saw police removing the dead body this morning it was just so shocking. I felt so unsafe because I have a little baby,” he said.

“I feel like there should be more police or some kind of security around here because there’s a lot of kids in this neighbourhood.”

Anyone with information about this shooting is asked to call police directly at 403-266-1234 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477or calgarycrimestoppers.org, or through the P3 Tips app.