The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team will be investigating after a police situation west of Edmonton prompted an emergency alert telling area residents to stay in their homes, EPS confirmed.
A search for “armed and dangerous” suspects prompted the warning for Parkland County and Enoch Cree First Nation residents to shelter in place on Saturday afternoon.
The situation began at about 12:25 p.m. with an “incident” involving suspects possibly armed with firearms, RCMP said. An Alberta Emergency Alert was issued just after 2 p.m., saying the armed suspects had fled into a rural area west of the city and residents were to shelter in place.
A blockade was set up just west of Highway 60, on Highway 628 — which runs along the north edge of the First Nation in Parkland County and turns into Whitemud Drive in Edmonton.
Police and ambulances were seen parked on the dirt road, and an RCMP helicopter was circling overhead.
As of 4:30 p.m., the emergency alert had been cancelled, but a police presence remained in the area. Just before 5 p.m., RCMP said the police operation had ended “with the suspects in custody.”
An RCMP officer on scene told Global News that Mounties would be assisting the Edmonton Police Service with the investigation.
Cpl. Cuneyt Zanbak said Highway 628 between Highway 60 and Range Road 264 would be closed for a while. People who lived in the area were allowed to return home, but some would be escorted to their property.
Zanbak confirmed shots were fired and one of the suspects was injured, but no police members were hurt.
Police initially said there were two suspects, but later updated there were three. Hours later, Zanbak confirmed there were actually only two people involved but could not say where the misunderstanding arose from.
He said they were also investigating a rollover of a vehicle with a trailer, but it’s not known how it was involved in the situation.
ASIRT also confirmed on Saturday evening it would be investigating a shooting involving Edmonton police.
Enoch also shared several updates on social media throughout the afternoon regarding two different locations in the community.
One advised people to stay away from the northwest corner of the reserve near Spruce Valley Road/Range Road 265.
At 2:30 p.m., a Facebook post said the patio at the River Cree Casino on the eastern edge of the nation was closed, but the reason why is not known.
— More to come…