SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Charges have been laid against two men, including one from Yellowknife, after a Sunday night shooting near downtown and a police chase through neighbourhood streets in Frame Lake South and Kam Lake.

An RCMP officer armed with a shotgun stands outside the Fraser Arms East apartment building. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo Two RCMP officers, one with a rifle and one with a shotgun stand outside a second floor door in Fraser Arms East on Sunday night after a man was shot. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

One man was injured in the shooting, which startled dozens of residents at Fraser Arms apartments who heard a volley of gunshots in quick succession outside.

Brendan Paul, 18, of Yellowknife and Travis William Campbell, 26, of Langley B.C. are each charged with two counts of attempted murder. Both face numerous other charges, including using a firearm to commit an indictable offence, careless use of a firearm, possession of property obtained by crime and failure to stop at the scene of an accident.

Campbell is further charged with operating a motor vehicle while being pursued by police. Both men remain in custody.

Paul was arrested less than a month ago and charged for a break-and-enter at a Range Lake home March 13 where police report an AR-15 assault rifle, .40-calibre Glock pistol and 2,000 rounds of ammunition had been stolen.

Those weapons have not yet been recovered, according to RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko.

"Up until this point we have not recovered those guns," she said.

Paul was released on bail on April 2 by Justice of the Peace Adelle Guigon, according to a source at the Crown prosecutors' office. Less than 24 hours later he was arrested for breaching his bail conditions and charged for being unlawfully in a dwelling house. On April 17 he was released on bail again by Justice of the Peace Ruth McLean.

In a news release issued Tuesday, RCMP state that the preliminary investigation into Sunday's shooting indicates it was a targeted attack and the two suspects and the victim are known to each other. Police stated that all three are known to them. Sturko added that Paul and Campbell were charged with two counts of attempted murder because "there is evidence to suggest that more than one person was targeted in this incident."

Investigators are looking at whether the shooting is gang-related, police stated. Police recovered a firearm in a residential area Monday morning believed to have been used in the shooting, according to RCMP.

Sturko said it was "too early to state whether the firearm that was used was stolen or not."

On Sunday evening 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. Outside, several minutes later 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., stated Sturko in a news release issued at about 2 a.m. Monday.

Kelsie Pagacz lives on the first floor of the Fraser Arms West building.

"I heard six shots then there was a brief pause, about five seconds and then I heard four more shots," she said. "I then looked at my window to see what was going on and saw a blue, four-door vehicle fleeing the scene. I'm a little uneasy still. It definitely took some time to sink in but I don't think I'm going to go about my life any differently."

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 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 it which appeared 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 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.

RCMP are not releasing the name of the victim but stated that he suffered non-life threatening injuries. It was not clear whether he had been released from hospital as of press time.

- with files from Cody Punter

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