INNISIFAIL – Residents in the south end Cannon Park area are sharing "terrifying" accounts of the local shooting of a Sylvan Lake woman early Friday morning.
“I heard a gunshot at 5 a.m. The sound woke me and the dog up. He went nuts,” said a nearby neighbour, whom the Province has chosen to keep anonymous, along with other neighbourhood witnesses. “I thought it was (a gunshot) or I thought maybe it was like one of those transformers. They make a loud bang sometimes when they go off. It was really loud.”
They stayed in bed for a couple of minutes unsure of what they heard before getting up to investigate, adding they heard just one shot being fired.
“I looked out the window. A blue Jeep pulled up and a guy booked it out of the duplex and got in the vehicle. I called 911,” said the neighbour, adding it was an older model of Jeep that had two people in the vehicle.
The witness said about five or six police vehicles arrived on scene and went into the duplex and taped everything off. RCMP took a statement from them and from nearby neighbours that morning.
A sidewalk and some of the snow in front of the house had drops of blood, as noted by the witness and several other people in the area on Friday afternoon.
“Then I saw the neighbours; I saw them walking around with a flashlight looking at the blood. That was after they (the people in the Jeep) were gone,” said the witness.
Several area residents have confirmed that the house where the shooting took place has had troubling issues in the past.
“It’s terrifying. That house has been...it's been trouble since we moved in five years ago,” said one resident. “Everyone that moves into that house, there’s cops there constantly. There’s people in and out."
They noted the shooting was unnerving, especially for any children who may live in the area or play at Cannon Park.
“It does make you wonder and make you think, but this isn’t an everyday occurrence,” said one resident.
RCMP are still searching for suspects in the shooting of the Sylvan Lake woman.
The 22-year-old woman is listed in stable condition in a Calgary hospital.
“I can confirm a female was shot and taken to hospital,” said Innisfail RCMP Staff Sgt. Chris Matechuk. He said no arrests have been made at this time.
“We are actively investigating. There is no risk to the public at all. I can’t say much more as we are working on it right now.”
Matechuk said the shooting incident occurred shortly before 5 a.m. on March 6 in a residence in the 3700 block of 50th Avenue near the Cannon Park area. Upon arrival police learned an unknown person had already taken the female victim to the hospital. They also learned the suspects had fled the area, said a police news release.
He said the woman was first taken to Innisfail hospital and then airlifted by STARS air ambulance to Calgary’s Foothills Medical Centre.
If any citizen has information regarding this incident, he or she is asked to contact the Innisfail RCMP Detachment at 403-227-3342 or their local police. If citizens wish to remain anonymous, they can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).
The RCMP investigation continues.
-With files from Johnnie Bachusky.
