On June 4 at 3:30 p.m. the Innisfail RCMP learned five firearms had been stolen from an Innisfail residence. Police discovered signs of forced entry and noted the criminal payload included handguns.
The incident is currently under investigation. Police are requesting anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the Innisfail RCMP detachment at 403-227-3342.
Residents of an Innisfail apartment were surprised by the sound of a gunshot late in the evening of June 4.
Upon investigation police discovered a bullet lodged in the structure of the apartment below where the suspect had been at the time.
At least one person was in bed in the lower apartment at the time of the firearm discharge, according to Innisfail RCMP.
Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of the suspect, an individual of no fixed address who is known to police, but not locally.
It's lucky no one was hurt in the incident, said Cpl. Jeff Hildebrandt.
“We've all heard the stories of some little kid being shot dead while asleep,” he said, pointing to the death of five-year-old Ethan Yellowbird in Hobbema in 2011 as an example of how real the threat can be. “I've put bodies in bags that were from the same thing.”
Innisfail RCMP was alerted May 30 to a local incident of online heavy equipment fraud they believe to be connected with other cases across Alberta and B.C. The scam involves listing a BobCat or other machinery for sale at prices in excess of $20,000. The purchaser makes a payment without ever seeing the product and nothing shows up.
“There is no BobCat,” said Cpl. Jeff Hildebrandt of the Innisfail detachment. “It's a very unfortunate thing.”
If you're not able to touch or see a product first hand get a friend to look at the sale item, he urges.
Otherwise “you have no real proof of anything,” he said. “We continue to receive these complaints.”
In just the past week a handful of auto thefts were reported in the Innisfail area.
On June 6 at about 1:50 p.m. an abandoned vehicle was discovered at the River Valley Gravel Pit. It had been destroyed by fire sometime overnight.
Stolen vehicles were not locked, according to RCMP, who caution motorists to take necessary precautions to secure their property.
An Innisfail resident was contacted by someone claiming to represent a family member who had been thrown in jail and needed bail posted. The caller requested more than $1,000.
The local individual contacted the family member in question and discovered the person was not in fact in jail.
No money exchanged hands, but RCMP warn this is a common type of fraud.
