Shooting of German tourist a case of mistaken identity, witness says
calgary The German tourist shot last summer while driving west of Calgary was a victim of mistaken identity, a witness testified Monday.
The witness, who is a minor, said her cousin ordered the shooting to avenge the beating of his younger brother.
Postmedia isn’t naming the witness to protect the name of the accused gunman.
“They mistaked it for somebody else,” the witness testified at the youth’s provincial court trial.
The witness agreed with defence lawyer Balfour Der’s suggestion that her cousin believed the black SUV they saw on Highway 1A on Aug. 2, 2018, was being driven by someone named Bubba.
Her cousin believed Bubba had beaten up his little brother, she said.
But the witness disagreed with Der’s suggestion that the accused, now 17, never touched the firearm her cousin produced as he pulled up to the SUV being driven by German tourist Horst Stewin.
“He had the gun, he was getting it ready, and he shot it out the window,” she said.
The woman’s cousin contradicted her version of events, making no mention of a grudge against Bubba and saying the accused had brought the gun to his car.
The cousin testified he was drunk, high and driving recklessly when he passed the victim’s SUV.
“As I was passing the vehicle, I heard a bang. It was a shot,” he said.
He said the (accused) teen fired “through the sunroof ” before sitting back down.
He then saw Stewin’s vehicle lose control and hit a ditch, but when he began to slow with the intention to stop and help, he felt a gun to the back of his neck and was told not to slow down.
“I wanted to stop,” he said.
The accused faces five charges, including aggravated assault, in connection with Stewin’s shooting.
The German man suffered paralysis to his right side, and the prognosis for a full recovery is guarded at best, Crown prosecutor Dane Rolfe told court.
Rolfe said a German surgeon removed eight bullet fragments from Stewin’s brain after he returned home.
In a statement of agreed facts read in by the prosecutor, Rolfe told Judge George Gaschler that Stewin was shot once in the left side of the head as he drove eastbound on Highway 1A about one kilometre west of the Stoney Rodeo Grounds.
He was rushed by air ambulance to Foothills Medical Centre before being returned to Germany, where the fragments were removed from his brain on Aug. 22, 2018.
Along with the paralysis, Stewin experiences confusion and memory issues, and his speech and movements have been slowed, Rolfe said.
The accused, who had been granted bail, was subsequently charged with multiple breaches and is now back in custody.
The trial is scheduled for seven days, but is expected to be completed sooner. Kmartin@postmedia.com
Twitter: @Kmartincourts