The sibling of a 19-year-old who died in an officer-involved shooting in Estevan, Sask. Wednesday, said the incident has left their family devastated.
“We all feel gut-wrenched. We’re shocked. Justice was a teenager, and our mother was only 46.”
Around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, police were called to an apartment on 6th Street, where 46-year-old Karie Ann Guillas was found injured and bleeding. Estevan Police Chief Rich Lowen confirmed her injuries were consistent with stab wounds. She was taken to hospital, where she died from her injuries.
Her 19-year-old son Justice Guillas was arrested.
He was taken to police headquarters, where police say he grabbed an officer’s firearm while being processed for a photograph.
One Estevan officer was shot and seriously injured. A second member fired their service pistol, hitting the suspect.
The officer and suspect were both taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Estevan before being airlifted to Regina.
Justice died later that afternoon.
“We feel like our world is burning and people are pointing and calling us ‘bad people’s, ‘criminals’, ‘drug addicts’,” Justice’s sibling River Steele Guillas told Global News via Facebook.
They said they don’t know if Justice is at fault for their mother’s death or any details prior to their passing.
“We don’t know who called 911. We don’t know what happened leading my mother to die from stab wounds.”
River said the first they heard of the incident, was from an Estevan resident that saw an ambulance leaving their mother’s home. They said the whole town knew of their mother dying before their family did.
Chief Lowen said a homicide has the ability to rock a small town like Estevan.
“A homicide in a smaller community like Estevan, a community that is generally very safe, has a very traumatic impact to the entire city… everybody knows somebody who is connected in some way or another to the incident, so we recognize that it has a huge impact to the community.”
Lowen said the service and town appreciate the support that has flooded in from all over the province and from other parts of the country.
“It’s a long road ahead still in terms of mental health for the officers here.”
Saskatchewan’s Serious Response Team sent an email release on Friday confirming they will be launching an investigation to review police actions during the altercation.
The Estevan Police Service will continue to handle the homicide investigation leading up to the initial arrest. RCMP are investigating the injuries sustained by the officer during the incident.
Lowen said the officer’s name will not be released while the incident is under investigation.