CLARESHOLM, Alta. – The grief and shock at the shooting deaths of four young adults in a murder-suicide is reverberating across North America.
Friends of the victims tell Global News a jealous ex-boyfriend forced a car carrying the four people off Highway 2 in southern Alberta and opened fire before turning the gun on himself. Mitch MacLean, Tanner Craswell – both from Prince Edward Island – and Tabitha Stepple of Lethbridge were killed.
Shayna Conway – also from P.E.I. – survived and is now recovering at Foothills Hospital in Calgary.
All are in their early 20s.
RCMP have been able to briefly speak with Conway but are practicing patience as the young woman comes to terms with the tragedy.
“You have to realize this person has been through a very, very horrific incident, in other words has been shot, wounded, has been in a very, very bad thing with friends killed, so we’re not about to push that person unnecessarily,” says Sgt. Patrick Webb.
“At the same time, we do want to know what the story is so we’ve had some very preliminary contact with her and we’ll have investigators talking with her when she’s ready and when we’re ready to find out exactly what happened.”
The group were reportedly celebrating Craswell’s 22nd birthday at the Stone Pub in Lethbridge before Conway and Stepple offered to drive the boys to the Calgary International Airport where they were headed home to P.E.I. for Christmas.
Stepple’s ex-boyfriend allegedly followed the group then ran them off the road.
Friends tell Global News that man was Derek Jensen.
Jensen allegedly broke up with Stepple around Halloween.
Facebook friends of Jensen expressed disbelief that he would harm anyone. They say he was planning to move to Edmonton to either attend school or begin a job.
However, witnesses at the bar say Jensen was at the Stone pub the night before the shooting and had made threatening comments towards the group.
MacLean’s girlfriend, Kevynn Wiebe, says the boys and Conway did not know Jensen.
RCMP have said it’s not yet clear what Jensen’s relationship was with the three other passengers of the vehicle.
The murders have left residents of Lethbridge and Claresholm in utter shock.
A makeshift memorial is now in place as residents drop off flowers and tributes at the murder scene. Friends of MacLean and Craswell, who were baseball players, are meeting in Lethbridge to discuss how to help the men’s families and teammates deal with their loss.
Kevin Kvame, who coached the two men and boarded them in his home, says they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
At Spitz Stadium, where Craswell and Tanner played, the flags fly at half-mast. There are plans to hold a ceremony on the field to honour the fallen players.
Both men were attending the Baseball Academy in Lethbridge, MacLean as a player and Craswell as a coach. Both graduated from the baseball program last year.
Global News spoke with Tabitha Stepple’s family Thursday evening but they have asked for privacy.
Autopsies on the victims and Jensen were scheduled for Friday to confirm their identities.
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