A teen from central Alberta who called 911 for help, alleging people were trying to kill him, is dead after two responding Mounties shot him, RCMP said Friday.
Police found the caller, a 15-year-old boy from Samson Cree Nation, early Friday morning in Wetaskiwin, Alta., a city just north of the First Nation, according to a news release RCMP issued Friday afternoon.
The teen had “several weapons” that officers were able to confiscate, but a “confrontation” occurred that led to the officers firing their guns, the news release states.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the province’s main police oversight agency, was deployed to “oversee the investigation into this incident,” the release says. ASIRT has not yet responded to an inquiry from CBC News.
Wetaskiwin RCMP received a report shortly before 12:30 a.m. MT Friday that individuals were following the boy who called 911 and he said they were trying to kill him, the release says.
Almost an hour later, police found the caller in the south end of Wetaskiwin, at the intersection of 56th Street — a main thoroughfare — and 37A Avenue. Officers approached him and removed weapons, but the RCMP did not specify what they were.
At some point, there was a conflict that led to two officers shooting the teenager, the release states. Officers performed first aid until paramedics arrived and rushed the boy to hospital, where he later died.
Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, an Alberta RCMP spokesperson, clarified to CBC News that although the initial report said others were involved, the RCMP would not confirm that there were.
“We’re saying that’s what we responded to,” Savinkoff said.
“The caller ended up being the individual that we located and that is the person who ended up being shot.”
ASIRT investigates incidents in which police action may have caused serious injury or death. The agency also investigates serious or sensitive allegations of police misconduct.
The RCMP is also implementing its own internal review process, separate from the ASIRT investigation, to get a full account of the shooting, including reviewing police training, policy and response, according to its release.
Wetaskiwin is about 70 kilometres south of Edmonton.