A couple in their 60s was injured after a carjacking in northeast Calgary Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Police say the man and woman were about to get into their SUV which was parked in the 3400 block of 26 Avenue NE when they were approached by a man who tried to grab the keys from the man.
“A fight ensued and the victim was assaulted by the offender and the offender jumped into the vehicle and in an attempt to flee, he ran over the female victim with a vehicle,” said Staff Sgt. Rob Anderson.
She was transported to the hospital with serious but non life-threatening injuries.
The 2010 silver Ford Edge was tracked down with the help of tips from the public. Police received multiple reports of a vehicle matching that description driving in erratically in the area of West Hills Mall.
“As a result of his erratic driving, he was involved in a number of minor collisions that caused some damage to the vehicle,” Anderson said.
“In an attempt to flee from the initial incident at Sunridge Mall he ran into a concrete parking post and then we received another call of erratic driving and a possible collision with another object in the West Hills area,” Anderson said.
The man was finally taken into custody with the help of the canine unit at a location off Highway 8 on Stone Pine Way near the Calgary city limits.
Police say it was a “remarkable day” in Calgary with three carjackings in less than 12 hours with two of the incidents involving injuries to the victims.
“It’s very concerning to us. We are regularly seeing stolen vehicles and we’re also starting to see an increase in the level of violence that is being used. To have three separate carjackings, unrelated carjackings, in one day is very remarkable and unusual. And the level of risk to the public is significant with that.
“Some of the factors that are contributing to that are the use of some hard drugs meth and fentanyl seem to be common denominators,” Anderson said.