Sheriff wounded when gun goes off in locker at law courts
A courthouse sheriff was transported to hospital with a gunshot wound after a firearm discharged in a locker armoury at the Edmonton Law Courts building on Friday morning.
Officers stopped traffic at the intersection of 99 Street and 103A Avenue to make way for an ambulance escorted by police around 10:25 a.m.
Sheriffs inside the 1A Sir Winston Churchill Square courthouse said there had been a “medical incident.”
“It was reported that there was a firearm discharged in a locker armoury. EMS treated and transported a male to hospital with serious injuries,” said Edmonton police spokeswoman Noreen Remtulla in an emailed statement. A later update confirmed that investigators had determined that the incident was “non-criminal.”
Alberta Health Services spokesman Kerry Williamson said the man was transported to hospital in “stable” condition.
“We can confirm a Justice and Solicitor General employee with the Sheriffs Branch was transported to hospital this morning after an incident in a secure, nonpublic area of the Edmonton Law Courts,” said Department of Justice spokesman Dan Laville in an email.
In an updated statement on Friday afternoon, Laville added that counselling and trauma support services have been made available to courthouse staff and members of the Sheriffs Branch.
“Our thoughts are with the injured sheriff and his family, and we are ensuring support is available to them,” Laville said.
Occupational Health and Safety is investigating the incident.