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ASIRT says man shot by RCMP in Athabasca was armed with knife

Alberta Serious Incident Response Team. File/Global News

The 47-year-old man shot by a Mountie in Athabasca, Alta. on Friday morning was armed with a knife, according to Alberta’s police watchdog.

In a new release issued on Monday, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said RCMP officers were called to a report of a disturbance in the northern Alberta town at 10:17 a.m. ASIRT said when officers arrived, they “encountered the man, who was armed with a knife and suffering from a self-inflicted injury.”

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Neither police nor ASIRT has provided details on the nature of the disturbance reported or what type of self-inflicted injury the man sustained.

“As the situation unfolded, one of the officers discharged a service pistol, striking the man,” ASIRT said.

The gunshot wounded the man in the abdomen and he was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. He was later airlifted to hospital in Edmonton where he is listed in stable condition.

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READ MORE: Man airlifted to hospital after being shot by RCMP in northern Alberta, ASIRT investigating

ASIRT said no other injuries were reported.

The police watchdog is called to investigate incidents involving Alberta law enforcement personnel that result in serious injury or death as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.

Athabasca is located about 150 kilometres north of Edmonton.

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