EDMONTON – The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating after an officer involved shooting at Kingsway Garden Mall Friday.
Just after noon, the stairways and ramps at the mall were taped off and there was a heavy police presence on the upper level parking lot.
Police say mall security saw a man cutting his wrists on the mall’s security camera video.
“They were watching a male individual cutting himself with a knife. It appeared to be a kitchen knife of some sort,” explained Inspector Brian Nowlan with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS).
“That all took place in the lower level mall, inside the mall, outside of The Bay.”
The security officer called police and tried to approach the man, who then ran away.
“When they got there a foot chase ensued and this man was bleeding profusely from his own self-inflicted wounds,” said Nowlan.
The pursuit led the man and security officers outside, to the upper level of the parking lot where they were met by police.
Police say officers used “escalating force” after the man charged at them.
“He made at least three separate attempts to charge our members, the third time resulting in one of our officers discharging a single round which stopped the man,” said Nowlan.
One witness in the area says the man appeared dazed and confused. He believes police did the right thing.
“There was about five or six police officers that surrounded him at gun point,” said Les, who asked his last name not be published. “They were giving him orders to drop his weapon, drop down to the ground and he wasn’t listening or obeying their orders at all.”
“(Police gave him) orders to do something and he wasn’t doing that. He was basically doing the opposite. He was trying to evade them. They pepper sprayed him five times, trying to get this guy to go down. They tasered him, he still didn’t go down. So, I mean, what other option do you have when a guy’s beside you with a knife, right? Especially when he’s lunging at you too,” Les explained.
One officer fired the single shot.
The victim, a 31-year-old man whose name has not been released, was taken to hospital in serious condition.
Police officers did not sustain any injuries.
ASIRT is now handling the investigation.
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