3 street gang members charged after shots fired in northern Alberta

Three members of a street gang face drug and weapon charges after reports of shots fired in Fox Lake, Alta., on Friday morning.

Mounties confirmed in a news release Saturday Fort Vermilion/Fox Lake RCMP received a call of shots fired at 11:20 a.m. in the area of Laboucan Road.

Officers arrested three people and later searched a nearby home with help from RCMP Police Dog Services and the western Alberta District General Investigation Section.

Five long guns, two pieces of body armour and a small amount of suspected cocaine were seized, police said.

Police said three men, all residents of Fox Lake, are “proclaimed members of A$AP,” a street gang in central and northern Alberta known for working in drug trafficking, robberies and home invasions.

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The gang’s acronym stands for “Always Strive and Prosper.”

Dusty Eric Laboucan, 29, was charged with five counts each of possession of a firearm while unauthorized and unsafe storage of a firearm.

He also faces two charges for possession of body armour and one charge each for possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose and possession of a controlled substance.

Stanley Bill Laboucan, 27, and Luke Hank Laboucan, 34, were charged with pointing a firearm, discharging firearm with intent and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose.

Both men have also been charged with possession of a weapon while unauthorized, careless use of a firearm and possession of a prohibited device.

The three Laboucans were brought before a justice of the peace and remanded into custody.

Dusty and Stanley will appear Monday at the Alberta Court of Justice in Fort Vermilion, Alta., while Luke will appear before the same court on June 25.

“The Fort Vermilion/Fox Lake RCMP are always listening to the concerns of the communities we serve,” said Staff Sgt. Kevin Wright, Detachment Commander of the Fort Vermilion RCMP in a news release.

“We know that firearm and gang-related violence have been a major concern for the residents of the Fox Lake, John D’Or Prairie and Little Red River Cree Nation communities and we are happy to be able to address these issues and will keep on doing so in the future.”