Police have shut down several blocks in downtown Calgary following an incident Saturday afternoon where officers fired shots toward a car after the driver ignored police barricades and attempted to drive toward a military parade.
Alberta’s police watchdog has been called in to investigate.
Sixth Avenue S.W. is closed between Fifth Street and Seventh Street S.W., and Sixth Street S.W. is closed between Fifth Avenue and Ninth Avenue S.W., as of 4:15 p.m. The closure was expected to remain in place for several hours.
At 2:50 p.m. a driver drove through police barricades in the 600 block of 8th Avenue S.W. toward members marching with the 41 Service Battalion Freedom of the City parade, police said.
ALERT: SW Downtown Core, there are several closures in the downtown core due to an ongoing incident. Please avoid the area. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yyctraffic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yyctraffic</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/yycroads?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#yycroads</a> <a href=”https://t.co/YoLzX5FIrg”>pic.twitter.com/YoLzX5FIrg</a>
—@yyctransport
Officers tried to block the car with a patrol vehicle, causing the driver to pull a U-turn and attempt to flee.
Police then fired shots at the vehicle, which continued to 6th Avenue and Sixth Street S.W. where it collided with a bystander’s vehicle before coming to a stop.
He started driving toward me, toward the intersection … that’s when [officers] opened fire.– Greg Kurcharski, witness.
The driver and the passenger of the vehicle were taken into custody.
EMS said the pair, a man and a woman, were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. EMS could not confirm if the injuries were caused by gunshots.
Police, pedestrians and the occupants of the bystander vehicle weren’t injured, police said.
Car believed stolen, motive not known
Photos of the scene show a vehicle at the intersection with extensive damage.
Police said it’s believed the vehicle was stolen. It’s not yet known what the driver’s motivation was.
I am glad that the <a href=”https://twitter.com/CanadianForces?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CanadianForces</a> 41 Canadian Brigade Group and everyone in downtown Calgary are safe after the incident today. We are monitoring the situation and are thankful for the quick response from the <a href=”https://twitter.com/CalgaryPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@CalgaryPolice</a>.
—@HarjitSajjan
The Canadian Armed Forces confirmed on Twitter no army personnel were injured.
Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan said he was monitoring the situation and was thankful for the quick response by police.
Greg Kucharski was working nearby and had stopped to listen to the military band when he heard a vehicle revving. He saw it drive past officers who had closed the road for the parade.
“He swerved a couple of times,” Kucharski said.
“He rammed the barricade and then he was trying to back up and he started driving toward me, toward the intersection … that’s when [officers] opened fire.”
Kucharski said he saw other pedestrians duck behind pillars as the shots rang out.
“There was broken windows from where the bullets hit the car. He kept driving … it is pretty crazy to see something like that.”
Multiple Calgary Transit routes are on detour to avoid the road closures.
