Two in custody after carjacking, armed standoff in Calgary

Two people are in custody after a carjacking and police pursuit in north west Calgary.

The incident started just before 5 a.m. on Saturday when police officers responded to a call of a carjacking in the area of Country Hills Blvd. near Edgepark Blvd. The victim told police that two people forced him at gunpoint from his 2007 Toyota Tacoma.  The alleged offenders then fled in the truck.

Police say shortly afterward, they got another citizen’s complaint of the same truck being driven erratically on 14 St. southbound, at times heading into oncoming traffic.  A marked patrol unit followed it to 5 Ave. and attempted to conduct a traffic stop, at which point police say the truck hit a police vehicle.

“The driver of the vehicle became aggressive and intentionally rammed the marked police vehicle head-on and fled that area,” said Staff Sgt. Rob Anderson.

The pursuit continued north on 14 St. again and into the  Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium parking lot where the vehicle was stopped. Police say the driver lost control of the truck and several more police units intentionally made contact with the vehicle,  pinning it in.

“At that point the driver refused to exit the vehicle and there were a couple moments where there was an armed standoff between the armed driver of the vehicle and the Calgary Police Service members,” Anderson said.  “There was approximately two to three minutes with our members challenging him at gunpoint and he was refusing to exit the vehicle.”

The driver eventually exited the vehicle and was arrested by one of the canine handlers.

“He was very aggressive and confrontational exiting his vehicle and canine had to deploy the police service dog in order to take him into custody,” Anderson said.

Police say it was lucky no one was hurt.

“The driver’s behaviour was extremely violent and aggressive towards the public and to the police officers who were responding. Driving into oncoming traffic and driving at high speeds and intentionally ramming a police officer in an attempt to evade apprehension,” Anderson said.

Police say there were were a number of weapons in the truck including a loaded 9 mm handgun and one imitation handgun in addition to other knives and weapons.

“As police Chief (Roger) Chaffin referenced just this week, the frequency that we are seeing handguns in stolen vehicles has increased lately. And that is something that our members have to give consideration to when they are approaching each of the stolen vehicles,” Anderson said.

Anderson credits police officers’ professionalism and discipline for resolving  this incident without shots being fired.

“As this event was unfolding, the offender’s behaviour was so violent and so aggressive that in combination with him being armed with a handgun and his refusal to surrender at the end, this could’ve very easily ended with our members being required to use force against him in order to stop him,” Anderson added.

The victim of the carjacking was not injured.   Two people were taken into custody.  The driver is believed to be in his 30s while the other person taken into custody may have been a minor.

The investigation is ongoing and police say charges will be laid later in the day.