The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has been called in to investigate after a man was fatally shot by a member of the Calgary Police Service Friday night.
Friends identified the man killed in the shooting as 41-year-old Sanjai Prasad.
While police have not confirmed the identity of the man killed, they have said the deceased was known to them.
“He was certainly known to police,” Calgary Police Chief Cst. Roger Chaffin said at a late-night news conference Friday. “This person had extensive criminal records.”
Officers were called to the area of Inglewood Park SE at around 7:50 p.m. Friday after a report of four people prowling vehicles in a secured underground parkade in the area.
“The complainant believed these were people who had done similar-type crimes in the previous couple days,” Chaffin said.
Officers blocked the exits of the parkade with their vehicles and entered the building on foot to investigate.
“They located four suspects and immediately challenged them,” Chaffin said.
According police, the officers in attendance separated into two groups to search the east and west sides of the parkade. Two of the officers then noticed an SUV circling the parkade and attempted to stop the vehicle.
“The driver refused to stop,” police said in a Sunday news release. “The SUV struck a parked vehicle. The front passenger, a 21-year-old man, fled the vehicle on foot, pursued by an officer and was apprehended in a stairwell. As the vehicle proceeded through the parkade, a confrontation occurred between another set of officers and the remaining occupants of the vehicle. During the confrontation, shots were fired by one officer. The SUV crashed into a parked vehicle and came to rest.”
The driver of the vehicle, a 41-year-old man, was declared dead at the scene.
A 25-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man were removed from the vehicle and placed under arrest.
Chaffin would not release the identity of the suspects, but said charges are pending.
WATCH BELOW: ASIRT to investigate after man fatally shot by Calgary police in Inglewood
Sources told Global News Prasad had previously been convicted of assault, extortion, robbery, domestic violence drugs and weapons offences and that he had a criminal record in both Alberta and B.C.
In 2015, he was accused of trying to run down a Calgary police officer with a stolen vehicle and charged with multiple offences including assaulting a police officer. He was convicted of four charges although the charge of assaulting a police officer was withdrawn. Global News also learned Prasad was subject to a firearms ban.
No one else was injured in the shooting.
Witnesses said the scene was a bit frightening Friday night, as dozens of police cruisers raced to the area.
“Just sitting looking out the window first about 10 police cars went by, and then another 10, then another few. So we counted about 24 police cars and about two ambulances all going in a really big hurry down 9 Avenue so we figured it had to be something fairly significant,” said one man who lives nearby.
“Non-stop police cars, all coming from downtown heading this direction into Inglewood.”
People who live in the condo complex told Global News they have had issues recently with thieves in the underground parkade. At this point it’s not clear if the incidents are related.
-With files from Nancy Hixt.
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