A shooting early Tuesday in Calgary has left a teenage girl dead.
Police fielded reports of a shooting in an alley off Martin Crossing Crescent in the northeast Calgary community of Martindale at 1:30 a.m.
The 15-year-old girl, who was found in the passenger seat of a vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
An autopsy on the girl is scheduled for Wednesday.
Police believe the teen was shot while sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle in the 300 block of Martindale Drive N.E.
After the shooting, “the victims fled in their vehicle and stopped in the 200 block of Martin Crossing Crescent N.E., to contact police,” CPS said in a news release. “The suspect(s) also fled in an unknown direction.”
The driver of car the girl was found in was taken into police custody and was being questioned, but was not considered a suspect at this time, police told Global News.
“We are still in the early stages of this investigation and we have a lot of unanswered questions that we are working through,” Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said.
“At this point, we are unable to confirm if this shooting was targeted, and we have dedicated a significant amount of resources to identify any persons involved.”
Investigators have been collecting evidence from the scene, reviewing CCTV and dashcam footage from the area and have been speaking with several witnesses.
The car was taken away from the scene later Tuesday morning.
One neighbour told Global News he heard what sounded like a vehicle speeding by at around 1:30 a.m. but didn’t hear gunshots.
“I have kids at home so this is a very scary situation,” Manu Rattan said.
“I thought somebody was caught by police… but I didn’t think anything like (this) would be in our neighbourhood.
“That doesn’t usually happen,” he said. “It’s a matter of safety.”
Puma Banwait, president of Martindale Community Association said it was a very sad and frightening day.
“A child… who hasn’t really seen anything in life yet.
“This is something that is happening but now it’s happening way too often and too close to home,” he said.
“There’s constant crime going up in the northeast here as well. It’s not localized to one area of the city; it’s happening all over.”
Banwait said he wants to see all levels of government, law enforcement and the justice system take a harder stance on crime.
“Do something… We don’t want crime in our communities. We want our kids to grow up in safe neighhourhoods,” he said.
“I request strong action and to get to the bottom of this. Whoever is responsible should serve time — not one or two years — life. And life to me is not 25 years, it’s 100 years.”
CPS said this is the city’s third homicide of 2023.
Comments