Police are trying to identify two males connected with a north Edmonton shooting that they say nearly hit three children asleep in their beds.
On Dec. 7, 2022, at about 11:30 p.m., a home near 148 Avenue and 89 Street was shot at — both front and back — and the bedroom windows were targeted, police said in a news release Tuesday.
“The residence was occupied by a mother with her three daughters, none of whom are known to police. No injuries occurred; however, bullets narrowly missed the children who were asleep in their beds,” EPS said.
“A mother and her three daughters were inside. And just by sheer luck and near misses, nobody was struck,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart of the EPS’ guns and gang section.
“A few inches here or there, we’d be talking a different story today, a more tragic story.
“We truly believe there were innocent victims inside that residence,” he stressed.
Police believe the shooting was “organized” but they don’t know why this family was targeted.
“This shooting is baffling to us,” Stewart said.
“The video clearly shows that the shooter deliberately took aim at this house, but there is no evidence to suggest the family is involved in any criminal activity.
“We can’t say whether they got the wrong address, or if they thought somebody else used to live at that residence, we don’t have that information right now.
“We truly believe the individuals in that house weren’t the intended targets. That’s concerning to us.”
Police said the event was so traumatic for the woman and her children, they’ve since moved away.
“It caused her so much concern that she decided to leave Edmonton and leave the province,” Stewart said. “It’s affected her and her kids immensely.”
He said “in excess of 10” shots were fired into the home.
“Two individuals — very careless, very brazen, total disregard for any public safety — walk up to that residence and shoot multiple rounds into that residence.
“We need to hold these people accountable.”
Police have reached a point in the investigation where they need help from the community identifying the two males.
Investigators are releasing photos and surveillance video of one of the suspects in the hopes that someone may recognize him.
A dark-coloured Honda CRV-style vehicle is also believed to have been involved, EPS said.
Anyone with any information can contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at p3tips.com/250.
Edmonton police said there were 165 shootings reported in 2022, up from 150 in 2021. That means shootings increased by 10 per cent over one year.
EPS said Edmonton saw an average of more than 13 shootings per month last year.
“I feel like we’re a broken record here,” Stewart said. “Releasing these stats… and talking about our shootings in Edmonton.
“There’s no secret that we have a gun violence problem here in Edmonton.”
Of the 165 shootings last year, 85 per cent are believed to be targeted, up from 72 per cent in 2021.
“Ninety per cent of our shootings result in injuries,” Stewart said.
He said that about 10 to 15 per cent of 2022 shootings were directly connected to organized crime or gang activity.
Ninety-eight shootings had the potential for innocent bystanders to be harmed, police said. In 21 of those events, children were in the vicinity.
Shooting investigations are taxing, require a lot of resources and can take, on average, four to six months to complete, Stewart said.
“We’d like to have more dedicated teams focused strictly on this type of crime in our city,” he said. “The unfortunate thing is there are a lot of priorities in our city and you have to balance everything.”
The area that saw the most shootings was northwest Edmonton, EPS said, which had 32. Southeast had the next highest, with 30 shootings in 2022.
So far in January 2023, Edmonton has had 19 reported shootings, compared to 11 in January 2022.
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