'We are still in shock': Martindale residents concerned after deadly daylight shooting

Residents in Calgary's Martindale community are shaken after a brazen daylight shooting on Saturday afternoon that left one dead and two others injured.

Amandeep Singh was leaving the Sikh temple on Martindale Boulevard N.E. with his daughter around 3 p.m. Saturday when he heard something out of place.

"All of a sudden, we heard the gunshots. So, there was three gunshots which happened and there was a pause of five seconds and then again there were three or four gunshots," he told CTV News.

At first, Singh wasn’t sure what it was, but then he heard screaming and saw somebody laying on the side of the road across from his house.

"I rushed there. So, we saw there was a person who had a gunshot on the back, and there was a person here who had a gunshot on his stomach," he said.

Calgary police say three people were shot.

First responders rushed two people to hospital in life-threatening condition.

One man died at the scene.

Shernjeet Sandhu says she heard three gunshots by her garage in the back alley.

"I got so scared, my girls started crying, then I just called my husband to come home," she said.

"We are still in shock like what happened. I hope this never happen again in my neighbourhood."

Nitesha Ghe is new to the neighbourhood and says she came home to find her house blocked off by police tape.

"I was worried because I have a small baby at home and now I’m concerned whether to stay in this area because of the safety issues," she said.

While the shooting happened across the street from the Dashmesh Culture Centre, the people inside were told to shelter in place.

Raj Sidhu, the director of operations, says Saturdays are one of their busiest days and many either walk or take the bus to the temple.

"We found that very concerning if somebody could’ve been caught in some, you know, crossfire or something like that during that time of day," he said.

Police are now searching for a vehicle believed to be connected to the shooting.

A black, 2008 Acura TL was captured on security camera footage from the area.

Police are looking for a black Acura TL that was seen leaving the scene of a shooting in Calgary on April 29, 2023. (Credit: Calgary Police Service)

Police warn anyone who sees it not to approach as the occupants might be armed.

This comes a month after a 15-year-old girl was shot and killed in the same neighbourhood.

Sarah Alexis Jorquera was found dead in the passenger seat of a black Ford Mustang in the 200 block of Martin Crossing Crescent N.E. on March 28.

Police say she was shot while the car was in the alley behind the 300 block of Martindale Drive N.E.

Kelly Sundberg, a criminologist at Mount Royal University, says there’s one way people can help stop violence like this.

"We don’t need new laws, we don’t need to worry about the gun laws and these sorts of things in this incident. What we need to worry about is Calgarians reporting to the police that they have information," he said.

"It doesn’t matter how minute they think the information is, if someone knows something, they need to call police."

Singh says it will be a while before he and his family feel safe again.

"There's a kind of a fear which has been engrained in the hearts and brains of everybody."

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday morning.

Police could not provide an update on the condition of the two people injured.

The homicide unit is now investigating and ask anyone with information or video related to the shooting to come forward.