1st-degree murder charge laid in Airdrie shooting death

A 59-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder after a fatal shooting in Airdrie over the weekend.

At about 5 p.m. Saturday, RCMP were called with reports of shots fired in the Canals neighbourhood. RCMP said an injured man was found outside an area home. He was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later, police said.

RCMP told Global News on Monday that the victim was 57-year-old Daniel MacDonald of Airdrie. An autopsy was scheduled for later Monday, RCMP said.

Michael Antony Roebuck of Airdrie is charged with first-degree murder. RCMP said he remains in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 19.

Though RCMP couldn’t speak to the motive, they confirmed that it was a targeted killing.

RCMP couldn’t confirm if either the victim or suspect were known to police — but they were known to each other, being neighbours for “quite some time.”

New witness account

Dean Gier, 21, has lived in the area for the past 10 months and said he was fixing a speaker in his truck when he heard a shotgun fire. He estimated that he was about 10 metres away from the scene.

“I heard the first shot and I recognized it as a gun but I didn’t react as if it was one because it was so unbelievable. I noticed one man was standing behind a truck about two houses down with a gun cocked and he took a second shot at a man that was lying on the ground,” he said Monday.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I heard the first shot and I recognized it as a gun but I didn't react as if it was one because it was so unbelievable. I noticed one man was standing behind a truck about two houses down with a gun cocked and he took a second shot at a man that was lying on the ground," he said Monday.

“At that point, he still had the gun cocked and I saw two kids across the street so I grabbed them so they wouldn’t see anything hopefully, or if he had other motives in mind,” he added. “I figured they should come first, so I went and grabbed them and brought them into my house and the mother was close by and she followed.”

Gier said he knew the victim in passing.

“He’d always give me a wave every time he’d drive by and if he had a chance, he’d stop and say hello,” he said. “I’d do the same for him.”

‘Rare, horrific event’

Cpl. Gina Slaney said that at no time did police believe anybody else was at risk. She added that there hasn’t been a homicide in Airdrie for at least three years.

“It is a very rare, horrific incident that we are dealing with,” she said on Monday. “The members that attended the scene that night did a fantastic job in ensuring public and police officer safety. It was a horrible situation to walk into, initially, but they did [wonderfully].”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It is a very rare, horrific incident that we are dealing with," she said on Monday. "The members that attended the scene that night did a fantastic job in ensuring public and police officer safety. It was a horrible situation to walk into, initially, but they did [wonderfully]."

“I don’t think we need to press the panic button. This is not normal for Airdrie, and God forbid — I hope it doesn’t happen again.”

The community has come together and is showing support for one another, Slaney said. There are resources that those affected can access.

“Our Victim Services Unit has been working around the clock trying to provide those supports,” she said. “Community links in Airdrie are offering free counselling for those people or for anybody that’s been affected by this all week on a drop-in basis.”

WATCH (Sept. 9, 2019): First-degree murder charges have been laid in connection to a deadly shooting in Airdrie over the weekend. As Cami Kepke reports, police believe it was the result of a conflict between neighbours.

1:06 First-degree murder charges laid in deadly Airdrie shooting

Anyone with further information about the shooting is asked to contact Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7200. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.