A bystander has been left with what police are calling “life-altering” injuries after a shooting in southwest Calgary on Saturday afternoon.
Police said initially it appeared that five to six men in their 20s in two vehicles shot at each other in the area of 4662 Macleod Trail S.W. before 1:30 p.m.
Police later said the assailants were not inside vehicles when they fired shots but drove away in vehicles: one was a grey Nissan Rogue and the other had a similar body to a black Ford Escape.
Officers said the shooting appeared to have started at a Vietnamese restaurant.
Peter Mo said he was in the restaurant when a group of men sitting near him got up to go confront men they seemed to recognize outside.
“They got into a fight and one of the guys pulled a gun and ended up shooting him,” Mo said. “The three individuals that were sitting across from me drove off and the other guy was bleeding.”
Mo recalled how tense it was inside the restaurant after shots rang out.
“Everyone was kind of startled and confused as to what was happening because there were like four bangs that went off and then everybody started ducking to the ground,” Mo said. “I just took cover right away and called the police right after that.”
Stray bullets hit Mr. Sub, breaking some glass, according to police.
Detectives found shell casings near Mr. Sub — some unaccounted for rounds went into the sandwich shop.
Just before 2 p.m., EMS was assessing one person at the scene, confirming that the individual was in stable, non-life-threatening condition. EMS later said a man was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Officers said a bystander was in Mr. Sub at the time the glass shattered, and suffered injuries near his eye. He was hit by flying glass and sustained life-altering injuries, police said.
Police said one of the suspects believed to be involved in the shooting was dropped off at Rockyview General Hospital. He was later taken to Foothills Medical Centre in serious condition, police said.
No one was in custody as of Saturday evening.
Police said Macleod Trail was closed northbound from 42 Avenue S.W. to 50 Avenue S.W. and southbound from 42 Avenue S.W. to 46 Avenue S.W. The road reopened by 4 p.m.
Unrelated crash in area
Also at around 2 p.m., a person went into medical distress while driving and hit three vehicles at 42 Avenue and Macleod Trail S.W., according to police.
Injuries were minor and the incident wasn’t related to the shooting, however, it blocked off more streets in the area, officers said.
– With files from Global News’ Josh Ritchie