Second man charged in brazen shooting outside variety store

Calgary police have charged a second man in connection with a shooting July 31 outside a northeast convenience store.

Officers rushed to a 7-Eleven parking lot, at 3304 64th St. N.E. in Temple, in response to reports of gunfire at about 9:30 p.m.

By the time police arrived, the offenders had fled. No injuries were reported.

After reviewing surveillance footage from the area, officers assisted by the police tactical unit arrested 23-year-old Ahmed Hassan Rakka a few days later and charged him with several firearms offences.

The footage revealed a second suspect, who was arrested last Thursday after members of the tactical team served a search warrant on a home in the 3700 block of 44th Avenue N.E.

Alemayehu Aman, 22, of Calgary is now facing a long list of firearms offences and is set to appear in court Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Greg Cooper with the force’s guns and gangs unit said given the public danger posed by the shooting, investigators were highly motivated to track down the culprits.

“This shooting happened in a busy public area and our investigators were committed to ensuring that anyone involved was held accountable,” he said.

“Shooting investigations are complex and can often take months to lay charges, which is why receiving information from the public is critical. Sometimes even the smallest piece of information is exactly what investigators are missing.”

A spike in gang-related violence in northeast Calgary this year, including several deaths in the Indo-canadian community, prompted calls from community leaders for police to increase their focus in the area to curb the violence.