INNISFAIL – It was shortly before 6:45 p.m. on Dec. 20 when Jennifer Bath-Yofonoff and friend Helen Sherbourne went to the restroom at Red Deer’s South Common Walmart.
Seconds before leaving Bath-Yofonoff overheard a security guard saying there might be a shooting in the store’s parking lot.
“As my girlfriend approached I put that out of my mind and we left Walmart and started loading our groceries into my vehicle,” said Bath-Yofonoff. “A minute or two into this process the police cars started flooding the parking lot.”
Sherbourne then overheard a man nearby saying someone had a gun.
“All these police officers with guns were shouting, ‘get in your car,”’ said Sherbourne, who was also with her 14-year-old daughter Charli. “It was a bit scary as we never thought something like that would happen so close to us.”
The two women, whose vehicle was parked 45 feet away and directly in front of the store’s main entrance, were just 20 feet away from the shooting but separated by a covered shopping cart return area that blocked their view.
Unknown to them at that time, 69-year-old Charles (Jim) Williams, who had been shopping with his wife that evening, was on the ground and gravely wounded from an assailant’s gun.
Bath-Yofonoff and Sherbourne were by now in their vehicle, with all doors locked.
“We could still hear the police officers shouting at someone to drop the gun,” said Bath-Yofonoff. “The officers that continued to run past us were carrying rifles and wearing bullet-proof vests.”
Despite the pandemonium everywhere around them, the ladies exited their vehicles to finish unloading their groceries. However, police quickly advised them to go back into their vehicle.
“My daughter was really frightened thinking there was a gunman still around the car park, and so many police cars,” said Sherbourne. “We were asked if we had seen anything but we were lucky to have missed it by about five minutes.”
Soon paramedics and at least a trio of ambulances arrived. Police officers, including those from an Emergency Response Team and canine unit were everywhere. The ladies were eventually told there was a lockdown in effect. They would not be allowed to leave the Walmart parking lot with their vehicle as it was in a crime scene. They would have to find another way to get back to Innisfail that night and return in the morning to pick up their vehicle. They were not alone as dozens of other shoppers faced the same intense frightening issue. In fact, many shoppers were still inside the store waiting for an all-clear sign to leave.
“The next day on Saturday I tried to get my vehicle around 10 a.m. but the scene was not released until later and I had to return for my truck later that night,” said Bath-Yofonoff. “In retrospect this was not a targeted attack and we were lucky not to be in harm’s way.
“I feel like this event has touched many lives including that of the man who passed away and the family of the suspect. My condolences go out to all who have been touched by some way during this tragedy.”
Thirty-three hours after the Walmart parking lot shooting RCMP issued a press release to confirm the death of Williams, and that the shooting was not targeted.
RCMP said Williams was approached by an individual unknown to either him or his wife. There was an altercation and Williams was fatally shot, said RCMP. The shooter then fled the scene in a stolen vehicle being operated by a female, added the press release.
Both suspects were apprehended that same night at about 10:30 p.m. following a report by Rimbey RCMP that a vehicle was stolen from their detachment area. Police said the suspects were later apprehended after being observed by RCMP Air Services, and spike belts deployed on regional roadways.
RCMP said the female suspect was ultimately arrested while in the stolen vehicle, while the male fled on foot but was apprehended shortly after.
Chase Freed, 18, of Red Deer, has been charged with second-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder while using a firearm, failing to stop while being pursued by a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle. He has been remanded in custody to appear in Red Deer provincial court on Jan. 6 via CCTV.
Crystal Maurice, 30, of Red Deer, has been charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder, failing to stop while being pursued by a police officer, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle. She was initially remanded in custody to appear in Red Deer provincial court on Dec. 23.
