A police confrontation after a bizarre series of hit and runs with blunt-object assaults led to an officer-involved shooting fatality Friday night in southwest Edmonton.
Around 11:58 p.m., the city police were called by Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) for assistance following a collision between a vehicle and an EFRS truck.
“It was reported that the male driver of the vehicle attempted to assault emergency personnel with a blunt object before fleeing the scene,” said a Saturday afternoon police news release.
A similar vehicle was reportedly involved in two other hit-and-run reports in southwest Edmonton.
“In those incidents, a male driver allegedly assaulted complainants with a blunt object before fleeing. One driver sustained minor injuries,” said police.
Officers located a residence on Christie Vista S.W. Edmonton, where a vehicle matching the description from the earlier incidents was observed in an open garage.
The vehicle appeared to have recent collision damage.
“Officers contained the residence, and when attempting to make contact with the subject, a confrontation occurred between a male suspect armed with edged weapons and one officer discharged a firearm,” police said in the release.
“Officers attempted life-saving measures; however, the 59-year-old male was pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS.”
No officers or other emergency personnel were injured.
Edmonton police submitted a 43.2 notification to the CEO of the Police Review Commission, who has directed the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) to conduct an investigation into the case.
The fatality follows on the heels of an RCMP officer-involved shooting fatality in Cold Lake on Thursday.
In an emailed response to a previous Postmedia Inquiry, according to the Police Review Commission’s (PRC’s) Q4 data report, between Dec. 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, ASIRT opened 20 Level 1 investigations involving the most serious matters, including death, serious injury, or serious and sensitive allegations.
“The report doesn’t break those ASIRT files down by incident type, such as officer-involved shootings. Future public reporting is expected to include additional layers of analysis and more refined categorization as our new reporting system matures,” said a response emailed Saturday from Jason van Rassel, senior manager for community connections for the PRC.
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