Man charged following officer-involved shooting in Whitecourt

EDMONTON – A 30-year-old man has been charged with numerous offences after an officer-involved shooting in Whitecourt on Friday night.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team was called in to investigate the shooting, which was the second officer-involved shooting in as many days in the province, after two RCMP members shot at a suspect during a traffic stop in Whitecourt.

RCMP say two police vehicles were involved in the traffic stop around 10:15 p.m. Friday. The 30-year-old man was driving the vehicle, which was later determined to be stolen. There was also a 25-year-old female passenger in the vehicle.

According to ASIRT, the suspect vehicle collided with two marked police vehicles as it fled the scene. Officers fired at the vehicle “numerous times,” ASIRT said. The vehicle collided with another nearby vehicle before it was stopped by RCMP.

The driver of the vehicle sustained non-life threatening gunshot wounds to his left forearm and bicep. .

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The passenger of the vehicle was treated for minor injuries and released.

ASIRT says after fleeing the vehicle stop, the driver became “involved in incidents with unrelated citizens” before being apprehended by RCMP.

Sunday morning, RCMP said Luke Louis Kock had been charged with three counts of assaulting a police officer with a weapon (the vehicle), one count of flight from police, one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, one count of possession of stolen property over $5,000 and two provincial violations.

Kock remained in hospital Sunday in stable condition. Once Kock is released he will be taken into police custody pending a provincial court appearance in Whitecourt on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015.

This is the second officer-involved shooting in Alberta this week. On Christmas Day, a man was shot by RCMP officer who responded to a complaint of an apparent ATM robbery at a bank in Vegreville.

*Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Saturday, Dec. 27, 2014. It was updated at 11:04 a.m. Sunday to include information about charges.