The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) confirmed late Tuesday that it’s been called in to investigate an officer-involved shooting in Blairmore, Alta.
“I was shocked when I heard about it this morning,” Garry Ferwerda said.
Ferwerda is from Lethbridge but said he visits Blairmore on a regular basis.
He heard the news of the shooting on Wednesday morning after visiting an optician in the area.
“I was shocked for this town. I mean, how else can you describe it?”
“I have no idea how it happened or why it happened, but for a little town like this, it’s quite an eye-opener.”
RCMP said at around 5 p.m., two officers tried to stop a vehicle in the parking lot of the Home Hardware in the town in the Crowsnest Pass in southwestern Alberta.
“A confrontation occurred which resulted in the discharge of service pistols,” the RCMP said in a media release late Tuesday.
“The vehicle travelled a short distance and then entered a ditch.”
A statement released by ASIRT on Wednesday said RCMP found the driver to have sustained gunshot wounds.
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Officers provided first aid to the man until EMS arrived.
The two Mounties involved were not injured, however EMS pronounced the man dead on scene.
ASIRT will be investigating the circumstances surrounding the officer-involved shooting and the actions of the RCMP officers.
They’re asking for any witnesses of the shooting to come forward.
The RCMP said it will also continue to investigate the events that led up to the confrontation with police.
READ MORE: Witness describes chase, fatal shooting involving Lloydminster RCMP
ASIRT investigates incidents involving Alberta police officers that result in serious injury or death to any person as well as serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
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