Two people are dead and a Calgary police officer is being investigated after a fatal shooting.
The incident started at around 9 p.m. on Thursday night.
Police say they received a call from a man who said he just killed his wife.
When police arrived at the apartment in the Karima Towers, in the 1500 Block of 26 Avenue, S.W., they say they were confronted by a man who was covered in blood and had a knife.
Four police officers were on the scene. They tried to get into the apartment but say the man refused to let them in. That's when they tried to use a taser on him. According to police they tried using the taser twice but it had no effect. That's when a male officer shot the man.
A neighbour, who lives two doors down from apartment unit, says he heard the entire thing unfold. "All I heard was somebody saying 'drop the knife, drop the knife, drop the knife,' and then three shots. But I didn't see anything," says Gilbert Govades.
After the suspect was shot, police were able to gain entry into the apartment. They tried doing CPR on the woman until paramedics arrived but she was already dead.
On Friday, Calgary police held a press conference to address questions about the shooting. "No police officer wants to be involved in a situation like this. Our mandate is the protection of life," says Chief Rick Hanson from the Calgary Police Service. "It always is difficult for officers to be involved in a situation like this as it's traumatic to the community. It's a tragedy for our officers to have to deal with as well."
Hanson says he is confident the officers acted appropriately and the lethal use of force was necessary in the situation.
The Alberta serious incident response team (ASIRT) will join the homicide unit in the investigation of the incident.
