Probe into death launched after assault call
Bridgeland reports spark homicide investigation
Calgary’s homicide unit is now investigating after a 911 call reporting an assault initially led officers to a Bridgeland home Tuesday afternoon.
The victim was quickly removed from the building so paramedics could assess him safely, but the man could not be saved.
Duty inspector Patty McCallum said it was safer to bring the victim out of the home than for EMS to go inside.
The homicide unit is now investigating the undetermined death.
Four people who were in the home have been taken in for questioning, and police are looking for at least one individual who fled the scene.
Police were called to the 200 block of 11th Street N.E. just after 2:30 p.m. upon receiving a brief 911 hang-up call from an unknown person about an assault.
Officers discovered the man inside the bungalow and brought him out to the end of the block, where his body lay on the sidewalk draped by a yellow tarp, as the snow fell.
Yellow police tape cordoned off both sides of the block and part of the back alley directly behind the home, with cruisers blocking vehicle traffic from approaching the scene.
McCallum said she didn’t know whether police had attended the home before.
But some residents in the area said the home regularly attracts unsavoury characters. Others were surprised to hear about the incident, calling the neighbourhood quiet and generally safe.
“I never expected these things to happen,” said Sally Fanjak, who has lived in the area for close to three decades. “It’s scary it happened in this neighbourhood.”
However, she said she has noticed a change over the years, including getting the odd knock on the door from people begging for money and seeing more police being called to the area.
Sixteen-year-old Hunter Jacobson, who has lived in the area all her life, was also shocked to learn the news, insisting that “this is a good neighbourhood.”
An autopsy has been scheduled for Wednesday.