One day after a shooting at West Edmonton Mall sent three people to hospital, police held a news conference on Tuesday morning to provide more details about what happened and their investigation.
“We are incredibly lucky that nobody lost their lives yesterday,” Acting Chief Darren Derko told reporters, saying investigators continue to believe the shooting was targeted.
“We want to reassure the citizens of Edmonton that their safety is still sound.”
At about 7:40 p.m. on Monday, police said they were called to “multiple reports” of a shooting at the complex, which was once the largest shopping mall in the world. The mall was put on lockdown and people were asked to stay away.
Derko said police were told four males went to the mall and were inside for about 40 minutes. They then walked out of the west side of the mall near Entrance 55 and the Wild West Shooting Centre and towards their vehicle when they were approached by a white SUV, adding the encounter then “resulted in an exhange of gunfire.”
“Two of the males collapsed on the pavement with serious inujries and the two others fled into the mall,” he said, noting one of the people who fled took refuge in the mall’s gun range while another fled through the mall and is not believed to be injured.
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Police have said three people were taken to hospital with “serious injuries,” such as gunshots to the leg and torso, and shortly before 10 p.m., police said the lockdown was in the process of being lifted.
Police have yet to say how old the victims are.
Movie-goers were seen being let out of the nearby Scotiabank Cineplex movie theatre, where police said there were about 200 people that night.
Derko said investigators believe they have successfully recovered the SUV that was involved but noted work is ongoing to confirm it is the right vehicle. He also said police officers recovered a handgun during a sweep of the mall Monday night and they believe it belongs to one of the people involved in the violence.
On Monday, police did not say if they had identified any suspects in connection with the shooting, but investigators believe the shootings were targeted.
Derko said he hopes those who were hospitalized will be able to provide information to police to help them make arrests.
“Obviously there’s still a great concern when these things happen in public spaces,” he said, adding that the public should know police continue to believe the shooting was not random.
“Who those groups are and the motivation behind that shooting is still not clear.”
Derko said police are gathering intelligence but noted it is “too early to tell” if the shooting is the result “of an ongoing feud or violence that’s going to continue.”
Dale McFee, the chief of the EPS, tweeted Tuesday afternoon that police “understand citizens are concerned,” adding that “addressing crime, disorder and violence citywide needs sustained effort.”
“We can’t let up, and we won’t.”
At an unrelated news conference on Tuesday, Mayor Amarjeet Sohi was asked about the shooting and said it was “absolutely unacceptable.”
“When people start fearing in public places or being in places that they go for enjoyment or tourism or shopping … It is a concern that when people start to have that fear, they will not go out to shop, they will not go out for dinner… That is why it is so important that we get a handle on this situation.”
Sohi said Edmonton, like other cities, has seen growing concerns about violent crime since the COVID-19 pandemic and said it is important to continue the work to identify and address root causes of crime, citing issues like the availability of guns and reintegrating people back into society after they have served prison time for their crimes.
“These are very complex issues,” he said. “We need a holistic approach.
“I am deeply concerned about the acceleration of violence in our city.”
In a statement issued to Global News on Tuesday, WEM officials said the mall “continues to work with (the) Edmonton Police Service in protecting our guests and providing above-standard safety and security for patrons.”
Derko said he was concerned to see that “there was a lost of misinformation ciruclating” about the shooting on Monday night, calling on Edmontonians to rely on police and professional media organizations for updates about what happened.
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