The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating after a Calgary Police Service (CPS) officer shot and killed a woman in the city’s southeast on Wednesday. At 1:30 a.m., police were called to a home in the 200 block of Legacy Circle S.E. Officials say the call was for a welfare check, and mental-health-related. “Our officers contained the scene and worked to de-escalate the situation, creating time and space,” police said later Wednesday morning. “However, approximately an hour later, the woman exited the home with a weapon. “One officer deployed a non-lethal round, and shortly after, one officer fired their service weapon, striking the woman.” The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. A woman who lives in the area told CTV News she and her partner were woken up by what sounded like gunshots. “We saw some police officers around. It looked like it was pretty intense,” said Carisa Collins. Police later went around to a number of homes, including hers, and told everyone to get outside. “When we got outside, we could smell gasoline or propane, so it sounds like there could have been a potential gas leak or something,” Collins said. They were later allowed to go back home and police haven’t said anything since, she added. Incident ruptured gas meter Another man, Jeremy Siemens, was woken up at about 3 a.m. by police who told him there was a gas leak in the area. “We all gathered on the street, waiting for a bus to come, then they said we were allowed back in,” he told CTV News. He spotted one of his neighbours who wasn’t going back inside, so Siemens asked him why. “He said there was a lady lying on the ground all full of blood,” he said. He called the situation “terrible,” especially for his niece, who lives on the main floor of his home. “She has five kids, including babies, so it’s not what you think could happen,” he said. CPS said a gas meter was ruptured during the incident, causing a leak, but didn’t say how it occurred. “Officers assisted in evacuating the homes of people affected by the leak until the Calgary Fire Department was able to shut off the gas and secure the area,” police said. “All residents have since been able to return home. “As a result of exposure to the gas, one officer was transported to hospital and a second was evaluated by medics. Both are recovering.” Siemens didn’t know who lived at the home, but said there was a woman who lived alone in the basement. He also remembered seeing police at the home for a few hours one afternoon last week. “They were hanging out on the lawn for a while,” he said. Nate Nickel, who also lives in Legacy, says the police activity isn’t uncommon for the area. “I’ve seen police, ambulances, showing up a few times. Fire (crews) coming up and down this road,” he said. He said he knew about the police call Siemens mentioned, saying it was possibly a mental health call. When told that a person died Wednesday morning, Collins said she hopes everyone else is OK. “The police, I’m sure, were doing their jobs (and) were trying to handle the situation the best they could,” she said. ‘New normal’: police chief CPS Chief Katie McLellan said the morning’s incident is “just one in a string of concerning events.” “Encounters that begin as routine can change in seconds, and more often than ever before, firearms are part of that reality,” she said. “On average, we’re encountering situations eight times per day where firearms are involved. “In addition, our officers are calling in Code 200s—that’s where an officer is in trouble—approximately 40 times per month.” McLellan said she would bet the number of times a Code 200 call is warranted is actually even higher—she said officers are generally reluctant to escalate a call to that level. McLellan confirmed police have encountered the woman involved in this incident “several times over the past several months.” She also confirmed police have “seized a weapon from that scene.” ASIRT, the province’s police watchdog, has been called in to investigate, as is protocol.
