SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Three people are being held by RCMP after a Sunday night shooting and police chase through neighbourhood streets in Frame Lake South.
A man with an apparent gunshot wound to his left shoulder points out something to police officers with his right arm between the Fraser Arms apartment buildings before he is treated by paramedics Sunday night. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
A Yellowknifer reporter was in his apartment at Fraser Arms West when he heard about five gunshots just before 9: 30 p.m., followed by a short pause and several more shots.
Several minutes later outside he observed a man with an apparent gunshot wound to his shoulder being treated by paramedics and gesturing to police near the Fraser Arms East apartment building at the east end of 51 Street.
He was put on a stretcher and whisked to Stanton Territorial Hospital a few minutes later.
RCMP were called by multiple people at about 9:30 p.m. Const. Elenore Sturko stated in a news release issued at about 2 a.m. Monday.
For about an hour curious residents and media gathered around the two buildings.
Kelsie Pagacz, a Fraser Arms West resident, said after she heard the gunshots she saw a vehicle with at least two people inside quickly flee the area.
Several police cars swarmed the parking lot between Fraser Arms West and Fraser Arms East two duplicate three-storey buildings that are mostly single bedroom apartments.
Residents could be seen standing on balconies or peeking out from behind curtains as police officers with rifles and shotguns secured the scene. Residents were urged to go inside.
Two officers, one with a shotgun and another with a rifle, stood in the hallway outside an apartment door on the second floor of Fraser Arms East.
One officer told a reporter in the building to leave because it wasn't safe.
Then at about 11 p.m. several police vehicles left the scene, one with lights and sirens activated.
It was at that point a police chase began across the city.
"Police located the suspect vehicle in the Range Lake (Road) area and were preparing to perform a vehicle stop when it accelerated away," Sturko stated. "Police officers followed the vehicle. During this time the suspect vehicle collided with at least one parked vehicle."
As the chase continued through Frame Lake South, several people recorded videos of the chase appearing to show at least six police vehicles in pursuit.
Bits of plastic and rubber that appeared to be vehicle parts littered Kam Lake Road and other streets in the area along the chase route.
"The suspect vehicle stopped on Grace Lake Boulevard as a result of damage it sustained during the incident," Sturko stated.
Grace Lake Boulevard is a residential area past the Kam Lake industrial park that is still under construction and is a dead-end road.
Several onlookers followed the chase to Grace Lake and were soon told to drive away from the scene by police.
On Monday morning, only bits of broken plastic remained at the scene where the chase ended.
Police tape still surrounded several vehicles between the Fraser Arms buildings and a police officer in a truck continued to watch the area.
According to the RCMP news release, the three people taken into custody after the chase have not yet been charged.
