Two people were hurt after guns were fired “indiscriminately towards a residence” in two gang-related shootings in Maskwacis, RCMP said.
Mounties said the two shootings happened between Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 on the Samson Cree Nation.
RCMP said the two people who were shot were treated at Wetaskiwin Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
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“Due to the indiscriminate nature of the shooting, both crimes posed a significant safety risk to innocent persons,” Maskwacis RCMP said in a news release.
“In one instance, the bullet narrowly missed a 15-month-old infant.”
Investigators believe both shootings are the result of rising tension “between rival gangs.”
“Our investigation to date indicates a very strong inclination towards gang activity,” RCMP Insp. Gibson Glavin said. “The MO, as it were, is most certainly usual with gang activity and some of our investigational work has also supported that too.
“What it certainly tells us is that whoever is shooting at the homes didn’t really care who they were hitting. Maybe they had some intention of someone in particular, but they weren’t going out of their way to make sure that innocent persons were not in the way.”
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The RCMP said there is a major concern for public safety.
“Here are people who just don’t seem to care about anything except what they want and what they want to achieve, which is certainly not safety for people,” Glavin said.
Mounties are reminding residents that allowing gang members into their homes – whether they’re family or not – puts them and their loved ones more at risk.
The RCMP are asking for the community’s help in this investigation. Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Maskwacis RCMP detachment at 780-585-3767 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers.
Maskwacis, formerly known as Hobbema, is roughly 100 kilometres south of Edmonton.