Man who drove toward Calgary parade charged along with passenger

Police have laid numerous charges against a man and a woman accused of slamming through a barricade and driving a stolen vehicle toward a military parade in downtown Calgary before police opened fire.

Members of the 41 Service Battalion were marching west on Eighth Avenue S.W. just before 3 p.m. on Saturday when the incident began, according to Alberta Serious Incident Response Team.

The 21-year-old driver of a black 2008 Toyota Corolla was heading north on Sixth Street S.W. and attempted to turn east onto Eighth Avenue S.W., past barricades in place for the parade, ASIRT said.

A 28-year-old woman was in the front passenger seat of the car.

An officer on a bike tried to direct the vehicle away from Eighth Avenue, but the vehicle drove around the officer toward the parade, before stopping in the presence of additional police.

The driver then backed up and in what ASIRT says was perceived as an attempt to turn around drove north through the cycling lane, onto the sidewalk, hitting a building on Eighth Avenue.

The officer on the bike and two other officers approached the car and shouted commands to the driver.

The driver backed up, then drove ahead, west, to where two officers were standing on the sidewalk.

At that point, an officer fired three shots at the car.

The driver then turned back onto Sixth Street, and drove north until it hit a Dodge panel van that was heading west on Sixth Avenue S.W.

Both the driver and passenger of the car tried to escape on foot but were quickly arrested.

Police later determined the car and licence plate had been stolen in separate incidents.

Bogdan Ferdinand Diordiev, 21, of Calgaryfaces seven charges, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, flight from a police officer, possession of stolen property and driving an uninsured motor vehicle.

He is set to appear in court on Oct. 22.

Alanna Mae Steeves, 28, of Calgary, is charged with possession of drugs.

She will be in court on Dec. 2.

Police say both sufferedgunshot wounds. The woman had a single wound on her left thigh, and the man had a bullet wound on his left forearm.

Both were treated by EMS and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The woman was treated and released into police custody,but the man remains in hospital.

ASIRT is asking for any witnesses or anyone with audio or video records of the incident to call investigators at 403-592-4306.

Calgary police continue to investigate the incident, while ASIRT will assess police use of force during the shooting.

Calgary police consulted with national security officials for their assistance in their investigation, but said it's not believed the driver has any links to extremist activity.

It's not yet known what motivated the incident.