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Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal’s wife and children were at the mall when shots rang out
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A fatal shooting at northwest Calgary’s Market Mall over the weekend came at the hands of a reckless shooter, either unconcerned by or ignorant to the danger of the brazen daylight attack and the heaps of evidence it would leave behind, says a local criminologist.
Gunfire rang out in the busy mall parking lot around 2:20 p.m. Saturday, when a man in a black Jeep SUV was gunned down. Dozens of witnesses were in the parking lot, including mall workers shaken by the incident and shoppers whose cars were blocked in by police cruisers and crime scene tape.
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Paramedics took the victim to hospital in life-threatening condition, where he later died.
Mount Royal University criminologist Doug King said the shooting is definitely “out of the norm” compared to most in the city.
He said the shooter gave little regard to the number of witnesses and the mall’s CCTV cameras — evidence that could aid police in locating and arresting the assailant — as well as the “enormous” risk it posed to the public.
“Could you pick a busier day? A Saturday afternoon on a summer day?” said King.
“One stray bullet and how many more people could have been injured or killed? It just says to me a degree of recklessness on behalf of the shooter that speaks to a higher degree of anger, revenge or spontaneous striking out at the victim.”
King said the shooting doesn’t bear the typical marks of a calculated, gang-tied killing, where measures are often taken to limit physical proof of the crime.
“It suggests to me the person who was doing the shooting was enraged at something — seeking revenge for something, a spur-of-the-moment decision to take someone’s life,” said King. “It’s different from what we would normally see in targeted shootings that are done late at night.”
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‘No regard for human life’
Calgary city councillor Raj Dhaliwal said his wife and kids were at Market Mall on Saturday afternoon when the shots rang out.
“I’m so lucky that they were safe and nothing happened to them … I mean, just imagine if they were caught as bystanders or innocent people in this whole thing,” said the councillor for Ward 5 in northeast Calgary, where a shooting at the Deerfoot City shopping centre wounded a man and a teenage boy Friday evening.
“It’s not acceptable; it needs to stop,” he said of the rising gun violence in the city.
Man gunned down in parking lot outside Market Mall in broad daylight
Two victims shot after vehicles exchange gun fire outside Deerfoot Mall
Dhaliwal said he consistently speaks with police officials, discussing how council might be able to aid in combatting gun violence through tweaks to city bylaws or other initiatives.
“It’s disappointing, disheartening, and just frustrating … The audacity of people who just have no regard for human life, especially right in the parking lot of the mall where they know there are kids, there are seniors, there are families,” he said.
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“I’m going to continue (speaking with police) because these are the people on the ground that can help us understand some of this culture — if you want to call it that.”
Investigations underway in both shootings
Calgary Police Service Staff Sgt. John Guigon said Saturday there’s no indication the Market Mall shooting is tied to the one at Deerfoot City, despite the two incidents occurring within 24 hours of each other.
The Deerfoot City shooting occurred shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday in a parking lot facing The Rec Room. An adult man and a teenage boy suffered non-life-threatening injuries as two vehicles exchanged gunfire in the parking lot.
Investigators visited the site and found several shell casings at the scene. They seized multiple vehicles believed to be associated with the offence.
“They’re still processing them, and the forensics is still being completed on the evidence gathered,” Guigon said.
An autopsy for the victim of the Market Mall shooting is scheduled for Monday, and police are searching for the driver of a white, 2015-2016 Volvo XC60 spotted at the scene.
Police ask anyone with information on either incident to contact the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234. Tipsters can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.
mrodriguez@postmedia.com
Twitter: @MichaelRdrguez
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