Edmonton police are investigating two suspicious deaths after two men were found “in medical distress” inside a vehicle in the Hills at Charlesworth neighbourhood.
An area resident made the discovery at around 1:25 p.m. Wednesday near Charlesworth Drive and 39 Street SW.
The bystander called 911 but the men were dead by the time police arrived on scene.
“A resident in the area noted a vehicle just off 39 Street southwest and Charlesworth Way where two males inside appeared to be potentially in medical distress,” EPS Acting Insp. David Demarco said.
Demarco said anyone driving by would have known these men needed medical attention based on the nature of the scene.
Police don’t believe there is a threat to the community.
“Nobody should be concerned right now,” Demarco said. “The Edmonton Police Service is well saturated in this area and we don’t feel what is occurring is representative of this community.”
“Being in a new neighbourhood, it kind of makes us concerned about the safety and security in the area here,” Vishal Zaveri, who lives in the area, said. “Because it’s new construction and we’ve been thinking here as a community about how we should come together and keep an eye on all that stuff to find out what’s happening.”
To contain the crime scene, police did not let people, including residents, in for several hours. Police released the crime scene around 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night and all residents were allowed back home. The strong winds were making things difficult for police.
READ MORE: Wind chill values between -40 and -45 expected in parts of Alberta Wednesday night
“Unfortunately, it’s a crime scene in some horrible weather,” Demarco said. “We have a very, very unfortunate wind that’s making our crime scene very difficult to deal with.
“So, until we’re able to lock that scene down and preserve the scene as best as we can to protect the evidence, we can’t really let people back in.”
“With the kind of weather it is today, these guys took quick action on this,” Zaveri said. “I feel pretty safe on that side because they were meeting everyone in the neighbourhood and making sure everyone was OK.”
At 4 p.m., officers opened Charlesworth Way to let residents into homes on the east side of the neighbourhood. Wide side residents cannot turn left onto Charlesworth Drive. Police said Charlesworth Drive between 39 and 40 streets was closed for investigative purposes. Residents were asked to check in with police at the check stop on 38 Street.
There is no word yet on a suspect.
“We are treating it as a suspicious criminal investigation,” Demarco said. “Our homicide unit is taking ownership of this particular file.”
“All available resources have been front-loaded, trying to… identify any motive associated to it or any other potential victims.”
Autopsies on the two men were scheduled for Thursday morning.
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