One man injured as police open fire in downtown core
A man is in hospital after police opened fire in downtown Calgary Tuesday afternoon, which led to road closures in the commercial core.
Police were called to the area of Dermot Baldwin Way S. E. at about 4: 30 p. m. for reports of an officerinvolved shooting.
No officers were injured in the shooting, but a man was rushed to hospital in non- life- threatening condition.
A woman was taken into police custody, with reports that another suspect may still be at large.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, a police watchdog agency, has been called in to investigate.
The shooting led to a heavy police presence along Riverfront Avenue and Dermot Baldwin Way.
Jake Jung, a supervisor at Wow Chicken Chinatown, said he saw six officers holding down a man who appeared injured behind his store.
“The police were covering him up with some blankets,” Jung said. “Then the ambulance came... It looked like he was not moving. He was injured.”
Jung watched as the man was loaded in the ambulance.
Pastor Joseph Yang of the Chinese Pentecostal Church said he looked out a window Tuesday afternoon when he saw a scene unfolding on Riverfront Avenue.
Several officers had surrounded someone who was lying down near the bank of the river and was later loaded onto a stretcher and placed in an ambulance.
Meanwhile, a woman who stood nearby started yelling at police before officers took her into custody.
“I happened to stand up and look out the window. Then I saw many police cars to support this event,” Yang said.
“I also saw there is a police dog. Several police, they search 2nd Avenue and they use the police dog.”
A dozen police officers could be seen milling in the area of Dermot Baldwin Way, with two police vans and four cruisers parked nearby. Drop- In clients were having a hard time returning to the shelter as police cordoned off the scene.
A steady line of police lights lined Riverfront Avenue between the Drop- In Centre and the Centre Street bridge.
On the west end of the scene, two cars showed signs of damage, not gunfire, but appeared as though they have been hit.
Police continued to interview witnesses at the scene.
Wanda Curtis had parked her car along Riverfront Avenue around 4: 30 p. m. to have dinner with her family nearby.
When she returned to retrieve her vehicle, she was turned away by officers because it was inside the police tape.
Curtis said she lives in McKenzie Towne and has no way to get home except to take a lengthy and expensive cab ride.
Calgary police said on Twitter that due to an “ongoing police incident,” several roads are closed in the area of Langevin bridge and Riverfront Avenue.
Jordan Hamilton, spokesman for the Calgary Drop- In, said the shelter’s clients were not involved in the shooting, but they are scared.
“We’ve locked our gates to ensure their safety, and we are cooperating with police,” Hamilton said.
Cody Fisher, manager of Booker’s BBQ Grill and Crab Shack, said police SUVs and three ambulances could be seen on Riverfront Avenue near the Harry Hays building.
“They have police tape all the way to ( Langevin) bridge.”
Police were scheduled to release more details on the shooting at an evening news conference.