More details of the Christmas day rampage and fatal police shooting have emerged, but Red Deer RCMP and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team are looking for more witnesses.
ASIRT took over carriage of part of the investigation after officers shot and killed a 37-year-old man wreaking havoc in a front-end loader.
The 37-year-old was fatally shot by police attempting to make an arrest just after 1 p.m. on Dec. 25.
Red Deer RCMP had followed the vehicle from the industrial area into a field north of Red Deer. ASIRT said during the pursuit, the front-end loader collided with a police vehicle.
The officer exited their vehicle and fired several shots at the suspect.
A second officer also fired several shots.
The front-end loader proceeded into a field and began to move in circles.
Other officers who had followed the front-end loader were able to get close enough to see the man slumped over in the seat, no longer in control of the front-end loader.
The front-end loader continued into a wooded area and traveled for another 800 metres where it became stuck against a tree.
Officers climbed into the loader and turned it off. The man was bleeding and unresponsive. Emergency Medical Services were called in, but the man had died at the scene.
An autopsy will be performed in the coming days.
The man left a wake of destruction in his rampage through north Red Deer.
After stealing the front-end loader, he damaged and flipped over vehicles in both the Edgar and Burnt Lake industrial parks.
Though mostly causing damage to unoccupied vehicles, a truck with people in it was damaged by the man, but no one was seriously hurt.
Police said the man was sought in relation to a violent incident earlier that morning at a Red Deer home.
According to a release from the RCMP, a 47-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and an attempted murder was committed on a 20-year-old man.
ASIRT referred to the early morning incident as “intimate partner violence.”
The victims’ injuries are not life-threatening and they did receive medical treatment.
Police had a run-in with the man earlier that day at about 11:30 a.m. in Sylvan Lake.
He was found in a stolen vehicle and when police tried to stop it, he reversed into a marked police car and disabled it. He then fled the scene in the stolen vehicle.
The identity of the deceased was not released by police, to protect the identity of the victims.
ASIRT has taken over as investigating agency for the fatal shooting of the suspect.
Red Deer RCMP and the RCMP Serious Crimes Branch continue their investigation into the attempted murder, sexual assault and theft that precipitated the shooting.
ASIRT investigators are asking anyone who was in the area of Twp Road 391 and Range Road 273 at 1:15 p.m. on Christmas day and who may have seen the confrontation between police and the man.
Witnesses are asked to call ASIRT at 403-592-4306.
Red Deer RCMP are asking for anyone who witnessed or took videos or pictures of the mayhem on Christmas to send them along to assist the investigation. Anyone with information can contact the RCMP at 403-343-5575 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com.
mcrawford@www.reddeeradvocate.com