Gun crime investigators say shooting incidents on the rise in Edmonton
CBC
Edmonton police say gun crime investigators are being stretched thin as shooting investigations pile up.
"We're like a broken record up here," guns and gangs Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart said as he kicked off a news conference Tuesday.
Stewart shared details about a December shooting that saw shooters fire multiple rounds into a north Edmonton home with a mother and three children inside. There were no injuries, but Stewart said it was a near-miss and called the shooting " brazen" and a "very concerning event."
On Dec. 7, 2022, police were called to a home at 148th Avenue and 89th Street, where Stewart said two shooters had fired more than 10 shots at a home with a woman and children inside.
Stewart said investigators believe the shooting at the house was targeted – with one shooter firing at the front of the home and one at the back – but they don't have any reason to believe the family inside were the intended victims.
"We can't say whether they got the wrong residence, or if they thought someone else used to live at that residence," Stewart said. "We truly believe the individuals at that house weren't the intended targets."
He said the children were in bed at the time, and that the incident was so traumatic for the mother that she decided to move out of province.
Police released security footage showing one person dressed in dark colours who they have identified as a subject, and added that they believe a dark-coloured Honda CR-V may have been involved.
Stewart has given several news conferences and interviews in recent months, both to share data about the volume of shootings and to ask for public help in solving specific cases.
"These files are very challenging and complex, and they're very lengthy," he explained, adding it takes an average of four to six months to complete a shooting investigation.
He said the firearms investigation unit and other EPS teams have laid charges and made headway in some cases, but that it's not enough.
"It's not the numbers we would like to see in solving these crimes. When we're doing a release like this it's because we're at the point where we need the help from the public,"
Stewart said there were 19 shootings in January, a jump from 11 the same month last year.
There were 165 shootings across the city in 2022, according to new data on gun crime released by EPS on Tuesday.
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