Police cleared in shooting of 17-year-old

The head of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team says no criminal charges will be laid after a police-involved shooting in west Edmonton injured a 17-year-old male last year.

The teen was inside a vehicle fleeing police when he was hit in the neck by a bullet. He was treated in hospital for minor injuries and released.

A statement Wednesday by ASIRT said Edmonton police received a report of a man carrying what appeared to be a sawed-off or pistolgrip shotgun in a residential area at 5:45 a.m., April 18, 2013.

At the time, police said officers responded to the Point West townhouse, near 96th Avenue and 180th Street. People fled the townhouse in an SUV, leading police on a chase to the western outskirts of the city.

Police erected road blocks, attempted to ram the SUV and fired shots at the vehicle. The SUV, with three flat tires and a disabled engine, eventually stopped on Whitemud Drive west of 231st Street.

When police arrested six people in the vehicle, they discovered a 17-year-old passenger had been hit in the neck by a bullet fired from a police weapon.

Six people were taken into custody. Two were released without charges, one adult was charged with two counts of breaching a court order, and the other three people, all under the age of 18, faced various charges after being linked to an armed robbery at a convenience store.