Residents left confused and shocked after Thanksgiving shooting
The quiet and beautiful neighborhoods of Signal Hill had bright yellow caution tape surrounding the streets yesterday, along with police cars stopping anyone who tried to get through to the other side.
When interviewed, police on scene said, “Around 12:30 this afternoon (Sunday) we got a complaint of shots being fired. Our sergeants responded.
“Ultimately we had a situation that was resolved, but our officers never found themselves in a position to challenge the individual responsible.”
Police said they aren’t able to say much about the situation at the time but curious residents drove as far as police would let them to get a glimpse of what was happening in Signal Hill, an area located in the southwest quadrant of Calgary with a population estimated around 14,000.Residents of Sirocco Drive in southwest Calgary question officers as to why police tape was preventing them from entering the Signal Hill neighbourhood on Sunday afternoon.
Photo by: Anna Majowski
The area rarely has any problems when it comes to acts of spontaneous gun violence.
The area of Sirocco Drive was cordoned off with yellow tape due to a man, police could not say his age and name at the time, who roamed Signal Hill and Sirocco Drive, shooting and ultimately turned the gun on himself.
When asked the police officers on the scene didn’t know why the man shot himself, but they could report that no others were injured.
Signal Hill resident Sobhie Kadri said that she was shocked when she got a call from her daughter who works nearby telling her about the difficulty she had when getting out of Signal Hill and Sirocco Drive.
“They are trying to make this area safe. I’ve been living here for 18 years; nothing like this has happened — it’s a safe area,” she said.
Other residents who wanted to remain anonymous said they couldn’t believe this was happening. One man said that he got a call from his son and wanted to check out the area himself to see what was happening.
Many residents were left inconvenienced when police officers wouldn’t let them through the caution tape to go home.
Residents couldn’t walk or drive out of the areas that were boarded off with caution tape for many hours, so taking the long way to leave or enter the neighborhoods was the only choice for those who had Thanksgiving plans.
Officers are in the process of interviewing eyewitnesses and those who heard the shots being fired.
As of right now, information about this situation is limited.
amajowski@cjournal.ca