Calgary police shot and wounded a man Tuesday afternoon after what they say was a deliberate hit-and-run involving a cyclist in the downtown core.
Police say no officers were hurt but the suspect was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and the cyclist was in serious condition and undergoing surgery.
"The shocking, wanton recklessness of this is something all Calgarians are going to be concerned about," police chief Roger Chaffin told a news conference Tuesday night.
After the cyclist was hit and even as he was being attended by EMS, police say the suspect returned to the scene and drove his vehicle — a suspected stolen, black SUV —directly at officers when they tried to stop him.
One officer had to take evasive action and dive into a police vehicle to gain cover.
He narrowly avoided being struck, but the police van was hit by the suspect vehicle and was significantly damaged.
That's when another officer opened fire, wounding the suspect.
Chaffin said it was shocking the suspect "would have returned to the scene of a violent attack and then take the time to deliberately attack police officers on scene. It's a difficult job at the best of times without having that kind of activity going on."
He defended the actions of his officers.
"Our members responded as their training would allow them to, and they did the best they can. You can appreciate these things happen in seconds and milliseconds, and you have to make very quick decisions to look after yourself and look after the public. Our training and policy would have kicked in at that point."
A woman with no injuries was also taken into custody while a third potential suspect remains at large.
Police also say they are investigating the possibility of a connection between this incident and a series of violent incidents that occurred throughout the day including attempted car thefts and dangerous driving incidents, involving a number of suspects and vehicles.
As is standard practice with all office-involved shootings, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team has been called in.
