Police continue to investigate the RCMP shooting of a gun-wielding man near Morinville Friday night.
When Morinville RCMP were called out on a trespassing complaint at 8:40 p.m., they found a 47-year-old male alone in a field next to the property. The man was not allowed to enter the property by court order.
He appeared to carry two rifles, RCMP said. When officers tried to deal with him, a short confrontation took place. As a result, the man was shot once by police and went down in the field. The officers could still see him moving afterwards.
An armed standoff started and the Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called. Attempts to communicate with the man failed. When the team approached, the man was found dead. No other member of the police or public was injured.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting. The team’s mandate is to investigate incidents involving Alberta’s police that result in serious injury or death, as well as allegations of police misconduct.
ASIRT continues to investigate the incident. RCMP said investigators found a loaded .22 calibre rifle near the man’s body, and a 30/30 lever action rifle nearby in the field. They also seized the carbine rifle fired by police.
This is ASIRT’s eighth officer-involved shooting under investigation since Dec. 24. Four of those shootings resulted in fatalities. More information will be released once the investigation is complete.
