On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, some moron apparently fired a dozen or more shots into the air. Those bullets landed on six homes in the Forest Heights area of Edmonton, Alberta.
Negligent discharge of a firearm doesn’t even begin to describe this stupidity.
“My daughter woke up and she is playing in her room and she is sitting on the floor, and looked up and there is a hole in the wall,” Julee Enman said.
“So a bullet had come through my daughter’s bedroom. It landed on the floor, just a foot from where my three girls were sleeping in their bunk beds. It was pretty scary,” she said.
“Actually it’s pretty scary,” said Tristyn Lindbeck. “Because if I had woken up and cleaned the house like I had planned, then I would have been in that room putting books
“It’s pretty scary” is a gross understatement, but some idiot shooting into the air isn’t the worst part of this story.
What is even more moronic is the RCMP’s response to someone with such incredible disdain for public safety.
They refused to file any charges against the offender.
“While we understand the concern this caused, we believe that this incident was not meant to cause any community harm,” says RCMP Corporal Josef McCoombs.
Since when is a person’s intention the determining factor in whether or not to file criminal charges?
The shooter “didn’t mean to terrify anyone” so the bullets landing beside a child are of no concern?
By this absurd rationalization Marcus Nugent, the alleged murderer I wrote about yesterday, should not be charged so long as he says he “didn’t mean to kill Shawn Williams” when he fired a bullet into his body.
The concept of personal responsibility is based entirely on judging a person by their actions. Their intentions are 100% irrelevant.
This person failed (refused?) to follow the most fundamental rules of firearm safety.
- ALWAYS keep the firearm pointed in a safe direction.
- ALWAYS keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
- ALWAYS keep the gun unloaded until you are ready to use it.
And, the rule epically failed in this specific case:
- ALWAYS know your target and what is beyond it.
This is really simple, basic stuff. They’re the foundational firearm safety rules hammered into every student who takes the Canadian Firearms Safety Course.
Failing to heed them, as this unidentified person did, should lead to criminal charges.
“This is a reminder to all gun owners to practice firearms safety and be diligent about where and how guns are used.”
Wrong, Corporal McCoombs. Wrong on all counts.
This is a reminder the RCMP is refusing to apply the Criminal Code as they should – as those homeowners with bullet holes in their houses rightly demand.
This gross incompetence by the Beaumont RCMP only heaps more damage on the RCMP’s already tarnished reputation. That any law enforcement officer considers this a rational decision disgusts the average person in ways the RCMP obviously cannot fathom.
It’s mind-boggling.
It’s inept.
It’s disgraceful.
And the fact they’re protecting the identity of the person responsible for sending bullets into half a dozen homes makes me question the Beaumont RCMP’s integrity.
NOTE: The RCMP seized two firearms from the individual in question and the investigation is “ongoing.” While it remains to be seen if anything will come of that investigation, given Corporal McCoombs’ public statement I won’t hold my breath.
As a former firearm owner, target shooter and Cowboy Action competitor. I’m wondering who the guy is and why is he being treated so different than many other Albertains that I have witnessed over the years being charged with much less serious firearm “accidents”. Make one wonder if the unknown person is RCMP or other law enforcement, wealthy citizen etc. The person should have been charged, a judge and jury should determine if the charges should be dropped.
My opinion.
Don Mau age 69, retired
I want to know who the shooter was and what his relationship is to the police or political figures…
One issue… the CFASC does not drill Jeff Cooper’s 4 rules of firearms safety into people. It barely mentions them at most, especially the 4th rule, instead focusing on ACTS/PROVE which is for unloading firearms.
It is perhaps the biggest criticism of the course that I have.
$10 says the shooter was one of the special class of citizens to whom laws do not apply as equally.
Just point to add. This urban neighbourhood is in an area bordering farmland. And as per the news information and a google maps view of surrounds area the holes were at downward trajectory and most likely from a farmers field to the south west of the homes. You also failed to mention that a search warrant was conducted and two firearms seized. Charges may be up to the crown prosecution team at this time for decision. The RCMP appear to have done a good investigation. As well there is still the opportunity that these home owners will file a civil suite for damages both physical and perceived (ie mental health).
new format seems fine to me. One question that comes to mind is; do the police know who the shooter is ? Are they able to convict in court with whatever evidence they have ?
The fact that no charges were laid against this person leads me to believe he was RCMP friendly. They know him! Maybe he was a cop or somehow associated with RCMP. So sweep it under the rug and hope it goes away. Maybe the attending officer should be disciplined for not doing his job that he is being paid for. Did this person hold a valid PAL or RPAL? Did the RCMP take the firearm away? So much BS and the Liberals think we should not have firearms, when the very people employed to protect and serve can’t even do their job.
Hello Chris, you forgot to mention in your article that this matter is still under investigation. You are correct that no charges have been filed, but you are missing the “yet” at the end of that phrase. What you also forget is that people are innocent until proven guilty of an offence. It would be a crime if we arrested and charged everyone without having the proper evidence to back up our observations. Your blurb says that you are a strong believer in individual rights, but you want to lock up a guy and violate his rights without having the proper evidence. If we had laid charges, I’m sure that would have given you fodder for another misplaced article.
Where it appears as though the suspect didn’t intend for his bullets to strike these homes, we still need to prove that “his” bullets were responsible for striking homes. You have to understand that this incident came after the situation in NS. People we on edge and needed to know that there wasn’t an active shooter in the community.
Unlike all of the cop shows that you watch on TV , where everything gets wrapped up in under an hour, actual police work sometimes takes months.
In this case, determining that the bullets came from a specific firearm takes specialized expertise that your average street cop doesn’t have. The firearms and bullets are sent to these specialists to determine whether they originate from the same gun. When that occurs we will then act accordingly based on those lab results. Sometimes, the RCMP deserves negative news coverage, however your outrage is misplaced in this case. All I can say, is wait for it..
Thankyou Josef McCoombs for your reply. Many here have legitimate concerns about the randomness of the bullets flight that struck homes. I would like to know what caliber[s] were fired please and the supposed distance and weather patterns.
As You said, there are many factors involved and people are on edge, if not rational, about the recent N.S. events.
I note several comments here about potential police favoritism. I hope that isn’t a factor. I’ve seen all too painfully from my experiences 12 years ago how that can further victimize a victim and cast a stain on the Blue Line. As in that event in N.S. there are many questions being avoided by the Public Safety Minister and your organization about the shots fired into an occupied Firehall, and the many pieces of the puzzle about Wortman and his links to the Police regarding attaining uniforms from a service member and a former neighbor’s report of domestic violence and weapons possession. These answers need to be clear to have the general public truly informed and accountability administered with possible sanctions and discipline meted out.
In this regard the firearm’s owning public and our family and friends will feel much less wary towards the RCMP organization… which likely is why you and I have read some comments of criticism..
I know N.S. is not your Region of Operation BUT your internal grapevine can send the messages to your Commissioner, your bosses.Minister Of Justice[s]
I am 62, family man , health care worker, lifelong outdoors person, and not a criminal and very safe with all my tools and machines. I serve the public and defend the vulnerable, and once wore the DND uniform twice. What is evolving within Canada gives all of us concern and it is good that you have monitored this site and responded, I hope you are unbiased and a Patriot.
Again , thankyou for your reply.
Peter B.
Hello Peter, thank you for serving. Unfortunately, since this is an ongoing investigation, there isn’t much that I can say until this goes through the court process. My initial personal opinion of the incident was that the shots came from miles away. I also appreciate everyone’s concern about favouritism, but this isn’t the case. There is nothing political concerning this incident and no one is being protected. It’s just a slow process if you don’t see how these unfold all the time. I also feel the concerns about legal gun owners who are being punished. Once again, this is a federal government decision which also affects many RCMP members. I get the frustration with the lack of details about this incident, and the coverage which it has received in the news. I get that it’s popular to beat up on the RCMP. In this case though, there were excellent men and women in uniform who performed miracles that day in locating the person of interest. It was literally like finding a needle in a hay field.
I do not want to be argumentative and I do strongly agree with “innocent until proven guilty” so why then are legal FA owners being judged & prosecuted for a crime they have not committed and are statistically not part of? I’m sure this event will end up on a fabricated or one sided chart somewhere against the public ownership of FA’s. But I digress, would a forensic test on a retrieved bullet not match a gun & if said gun belongs to an individual should that person not be charged with some section of the FA act? Maybe not caught in the act but this does put the weight on the owner in this case.
I’d like to add one more thing that is broad-spectrum in this questionable contentious year , Failure To Lead, our P.M.
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Copy to various organizations from Peter Bolten,
Hello …. and …. ……,
I wonder if you came across this item last night. It is unbelievable, and the Public needs to know that our PM is derelict by not calling an Inquiry to resolve all the questions around Wortman’s action.
Please read CBC investigative report…https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/ns-gunman-2011-warning-1.5589277
The RCMP and Police agencies, if not intentionally, screwed up many times regarding Wortman , and the Shooting into the Firehall during the hunt for Wortman.
I want to say so much more that probably parallels all our beliefs and Law and Order, but until an inquiry is called, the RCMP could conceivably screw things up again if recommendations are not announced officially.
Where is our PM and Public Safety Minister ?
{ one can also now call into question Trudeau’s foot-dragging on the Huawei / Court decision last week, Justin IS NOT following the lead of the other Five EYES, Australia, N.Z., U.K, America.
2/3 of our big Telecommunications are now opting for two Swedish Firms to carry out 5G enhancement, to assure our Safety. China can not be trusted. Huawei.}
I will close off by quoting from my recent science article from the author, a quote that is apt here and now, and we should be denouncing our PM’s negligence and capricious actions…
“A leader tells hard truths in times of crisis, not falsehoods… .A leader does not assume the mantle of expertise in areas where he or she has none. A leader accepts responsibility for personal and organizational failures. A leader cares more about saving lives than about winning an election”.
June 2020 Ben Santer Failure to Lead. Scientific American.
I totally agree, Peter. Nobody except the “mere citizens” of Canada want an inquiry into the Nova Scotia murderer case. The Prime Minister, the RCMP and the union representing RCMP members ALL are against an inquiry into this tragedy for what I trust are obvious reasons.
Great quote from Ben Santer, as well. Thank you for that. For others, here’s the link: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ignoring-science-during-a-pandemic-is-poor-leadership/