Man who shot toddler blames drugs and alcohol

20 year old Christopher Shane Crane says that the drive-by shooting of a toddler on the Samson First Nations reserve on April 13, 2008 was a "big accident".

Crane told the Wetaskiwin Provincial Court Monday that he was sorry, and that he was high on alcohol and drugs at the time of firing a sawed-off .22 calibre rifle into the home of 23-month-old Asia Saddleback, striking the child and causing her serious injury.

After pleading guilty last March to aggravated assault, robbery with a firearm, knowingly possessing an unauthorized firearm and use of a firearm, Crane stated that he wanted to change his life and be a better father to his own toddler:a 3-year-old son.

Crane moved to Edmonton in 2007 with is pregnant spouse in an attempt to finish his schooling. He had returned to the reserve when he was 18 to collect his $40, 000 in trust money from the Samson band.

Crane admits that he spent his trust money on a vehicle, clothing, and another huge chunk on drugs and alcohol and that he was drunk and high everyday leading up to the shooting. He also became involved with a local gang called the Alberta Warriors.

An agreed statement of facts reported that Crane was attempting to intimidate rival Samson True Soldiers gang members when he fired a single shot into the Saddleback home.

Asia Saddleback was at home with her grandfather and other children at the time when she was struck in the abdomen. The child was fortunate to survive however doctors were unable to remove the bullet as it was lodged so close to her heart.

Crane stated the he had been both physically and verbally attacked by members of the Samson True Soldiers in the past, prompting him to fire a warning shot at the Saddleback home. Believing that rival gang members were related to the owners, Crane states that he fired at the home in an attempt to get them to leave him alone.

Crane, along with a 17-year-old young offender who cannot be named, is also connected to the robbery of a drug dealer earlier that evening. Crane and the accused allegedly broke into the dealer’s house where they assaulted him with a .22 calibre rifle and made off with drugs.

Later, Crane and the accused drove by the Saddleback residence in a car driven by Crane’s spouse. From the passenger seat, Crane fired a single shot that passed through a wall of the house and struck the child as she sat in the kitchen.

Crane faces 12 charges in total from that day including two counts of assault with a weapon and assorted firearms charges.

The young offender found guilty last January, also faced aggravated assault charges and several other weapons charges. His 12 month sentence was reduced to three months as he had already spent nine months in custody.The accused also faced one year of probation, had his DNA entered into the Canadian criminal databank and is prohibited from owning forearms for the next 10 years.

The incident also led the band’s chief to declare a state of crisis and gather angry residents in an effort to address the problem of gang violence in the community. The reserve has taken several steps in gang prevention including attempting to raise money for a new youth center that will hopefully distract youth away from gangs. The toddler’s shooting also encouraged several gang members to quit their gangs and begin to speak out against gang violence.

However, Asia’s mother Candace Saddleback says that her daughter will be scarred for life.

"She is always going to be checked out by doctors all her life."

With files from the Edmonton Journal