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Bloody ‘drug debt’ attack in west Edmonton leads to attempted murder charges for 2 men

The Boardwalk - West Edmonton Village at 17319 69 Ave. Credit: Google Streetview

Two men are in custody and facing a total of 65 charges, including attempted murder and weapons charges, after an assault in west Edmonton on Saturday afternoon.

Scott Pattison, spokesperson for Edmonton Police Service, said the attack in the Callingwood area left a 34-year-old man in hospital in life-threatening condition.

Officers responded to a high-rise apartment building near 173 Street and 69 Avenue at 2 p.m., after receiving several calls from neighbours about a “disturbance.”

Police discovered two men covered in blood stepping out of the condo building elevator; the pair was questioned, arrested and later charged.

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Officers then went into a suite on the 17th floor, where they found the victim on the ground suffering from multiple stab and blunt force trauma wounds to his body, which police believe are from shotguns.

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The victim, who is known to police, was treated and transported to hospital; he remains in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery.

Police found several other people in the suite facedown and with their wrists zip-tied; some of those individuals suffered non life-threatening injuries.

Pattison said police believe the accused “forcibly” took those individuals to the suite; several of them are known to police and were already facing a long list of warrants.

Police believe the incident is drug-related.

“We believe it’s a drug debt. Police also confiscated a machete that’s also alleged to have been used in the attack,” he said.

Police said, depending on the condition of the victim, charges could be upgraded.

Trevor Auger, 36, and Jason Hope, 38, are facing a total of 65 charges.

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