Red Deer has recorded three targeted violent crimes in less than a month but the city’s top cop says there’s no reason to sound alarms.
Red Deer RCMP Supt. Warren Dosko said on Monday that 99 per cent of Red Deerians live active, productive lives and have no reason to fear.
But he did say that those involved in high-risk lifestyles are vulnerable.
“It’s concerning to us to have that many,” said Dosko, noting the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT) will be fully operational in the next six weeks and that will put more pressure on Central Alberta’s organized crime world.
“Hopefully we will see a decrease in the level of targeted violence. Even though it is targeted, it has the potential to spin off and affect the innocent public. That’s a big concern for us.”
On Saturday, a 36-year-old man was shot in the shoulder while he tried to fend off three intruders wearing balaclavas at his home in Bower. The man underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
Dosko said police are in the early stages of the investigation.
“Very odd circumstances,” said Dosko. “Because we know that is just not a normal activity where people show up at your house wearing masks and carrying weapons.”
Dosko said typically these types of crimes are related to the drug or organized crime world where gangsters are collecting on an unpaid debt.
“I’m not saying it’s this case but they (those types of crimes) are very much related to organized crime drug world,” said Dosko. “I wouldn’t say it’s unusual for Red Deer to have three types of those incidents in one month.”
Red Deer recorded its first homicide on Jan. 1 when Lloyd Robert Sarson, 25, of no fixed address, was found dead as a result of gunshot wounds in a vehicle in an alley in Eastview. A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for a 17-year-old Manitoba boy.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that the murder was gang-related.
On Jan. 13, Shawn Sattler, 34, of Red Deer, died in Eastview under suspicious circumstances. Police believe Sattler may have been in a physical altercation at a residence before the call to police about an unresponsive man.
The investigation continues. Results from a Jan. 16 autopsy have not been released.
crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com