The Calgary Police Service’s homicide unit is investigating a fatal shooting that happened in the city’s northeast Wednesday night.
At around 10:30 p.m., police said gunshots were heard in the 200 block of Saddlecrest Boulevard N.E.
Officers said they found evidence of a shooting and a man with what appeared to be a fatal gunshot wound.
Following an autopsy on Thursday, police identified the victim as 24-year-old Hisham Ahmed.
Police are looking for assistance identifying a dark 2003-06 GMC Sierra pickup truck with aftermarket headlights and exhaust they believe was involved in the shooting.
Police wouldn’t say how many people they believed were involved in the shooting, because of the ongoing investigation.
A security camera recording of the incident obtained by Global News captured 30 distinct gunshots before a vehicle was heard speeding away.
A gun expert told Global News the cadence of the shots indicated it was a semi-automatic firearm and the uninterrupted gunfire would indicate a prohibited, high-capacity magazine was used.
Staff Sgt. Sean Gregson said this was the 11th homicide of the year, the seventh by gunfire.
“These numbers fluctuate from year to year, and it’s difficult to determine exactly why we see homicides occurring as they do,” Gregson said Thursday afternoon, noting 2022 has seen an increase in gun violence and homicides.
“Calgary continues to be a safe city and we’re continuing to put all our resources towards suppressing the gang activity and working with our organized crime unit and other crime prevention.”
Inspector Jody Gach said not all of the year’s shootings have been related to organized crime.
“Approximately 75 per cent of our shootings have motivations that we attribute to drugs, road rage incident, accidental discharge,” she said. “The ones that are organized crime-related are ties to targeted shootings, where the motivations are drug related and conflict between opposing groups.”
Gregson said it was too early in the investigation to determine if Wednesday night’s shooting had been targeted or the result of gang activity.
“We’re looking at all angles right now, but it’d be too early to make any sort of conclusions at this point.”
Gach said the concerning rise in firearms-related crime is concerning for both the communities in which it happens, for Calgarians and for police.
“It causes us just as much concern as it does the community. We too have members living in the community and we’re asking for help from family, friends and loved ones to ensure that those walking around illegally carrying firearms are not traumatizing victims that are in our community,” the CPS inspector said.
“We are again bolstering our plans to deal with these crimes. This involves a coordinated effort from many areas of the service, including our investigative areas, enforcement suppression as well as community engagement.”
But she said citizens play a “key role” in preventing and solving crimes like these, through things like coming forward with video footage or information.
Jaspreet Sidhu lives down the street and said he was sitting in his room around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday about to go to bed when he heard shots.
“Multiple shots, like seven or eight of them,” Sidhu explained. “Initially I wasn’t sure because they were louder than usual.
“I immediately rushed to my window upstairs.”
Sidhu said he looked out the front and saw two people rush into a black car that was parked in front of the house where the shooting appeared to take place. The car sped off, he explained.
“A minute or so after, all the police cars came rushing and sealing the area in the front,” he said.
“I think it’s crazy… I’m not feeling easy since last night.”
Neighbour Christopher Summers said he heard more than a dozen shots Wednesday night after a disturbance.
“All I heard was just somebody cruising down the alleyway, speeding down real fast. Next thing you know, a couple of words, some gunshots going off,” Summers told Global News. “And then I see a vehicle pull up from the alley way over there and just zoomed down down this way and fish tail.”
He said he was familiar with the man who owned the vehicle riddled with gunfire that was towed away by police Thursday.
“I’ve always seen the exact same truck always driving down the alleyway and stuff like that. The gentleman, while he was driving by, always gave him a wave, you know, neighbor being a neighbor and whatnot,” Summers said.
“I never actually talked to him personally.”
Kamalveer Gill, an area mother of two, said a nearby house was also hit by gunfire in recent years.
“We want safety,” Gill told Global News. “Maybe have an officer in the area for security at night.”
Police remained at the scene Thursday morning, with a portion of an alleyway still cordoned off by police tape.
A black SUV parked at the back of one of the homes in the area appeared to be peppered with bullet holes.
An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday morning. If this death is deemed a homicide, police said it will be the city’s 11th homicide of 2022.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact police at 403-266-1234. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.
- Toronto Pearson gold heist: Ontario man arrested at airport after arriving from India
- Man charged in surfer deaths told girlfriend he killed ‘3 gringos,’ court hears
- ‘I believe they’re looking for me’: Man arrested after triple stabbing in Mississauga, Ont.
- Drone used to smuggle $250,000 worth of contraband into N.B. prison, police say
Comments