'It has to stop': Calgary police stretched thin with 5 suspicious deaths in 1 week

UPDATE: The Calgary Police Service confirmed Tuesday that the body found engulfedin flames inFish Creak Park on Jan. 5 was a suicide. Police say the death is a non-criminal matter and no further information will be released.

Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeldsayspolice may be delayed responding to lower priority calls, as officers work to investigatefivesuspicious deaths that happened this past week.

"This has just been a generally demanding environment the last couple of years," Neufeldsaid Monday at a news conference.

"We've been stretched fairly thin with this number of serious major crimes in very short order."

In 2019, there were more than 80 shootings, and just six days in to 2020, there have already been two more, the chief said.

"This is unacceptable and it has to stop unfortunately, there is no single or simple solution to address the complex issue of urban violence," Neufeld said.

Neufeld said the five deaths this week aren't thought to be connected. However,each victim is believed to have been targeted.

He said the targeted nature of the deaths doesn't minimize the tragedy of each incident but should reassure the public that those connected to high-risk lifestyles, like drug trafficking, are often those most at risk.

Neufeld said there is concern that bystanders will be affected, however, like a shooting Monday morning when a house in Auburn Bay was hit by bullets in a case of a seemingly mistaken address.

CPS has created a new inspector position to oversee specialty unitsworking on the increase in violence, whether it's violence stemming from drug crimes or addiction and social issues all of which have been driving factors, Neufeld said.

1st homicide of the year

The first incident under investigation is an assault that resulted in a man's death on Jan. 1, an incident thatpolice previously had not announced. Police said the chief medical examiner alerted investigators on Jan. 2 that a routine autopsy deemed the man's death a homicide.

The victim was involved in an altercation at Alpha House around 6:50 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2019. Staff at Alpha House called police to report the assault but cancelled the call at the victim's request, believing the man was OK, police said.

The next morning, at 6:30 a.m., Alpha House staff found the victim in medical distress. He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Police said the victim's name will be released once his next of kin has been notified. A person of interest has been identified and the investigation is ongoing, police said.

Shooting, fatal assault, body on fire

On Saturday, one man was killed and another critically injured in Saddle Ridge. Police are seeking witnesses who were in the area at the time of the shooting.

"The community is obviously very concerned about the violence but we have received fantastic co-operation," Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta said, adding that police have found two vehicles related to the shooting and continue to comb the community for discarded evidence.

An autopsy on the victim of that shooting is scheduled for Tuesday.

• Police call for witnesses to come forward in fatal Saddle Ridge shooting

Early Sunday morning, police found a man in medical distress at11th Avenue and First Street S.E. He died in hospital and an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Police said it's believed he was assaulted around 4:45 a.m.

Investigators are reviewing security camera video to determine how many people were involved in assaulting the victim, and witnesses are being asked to come forward.

• Death of man found downtown deemed suspicious, police say

On Sunday, police found a body engulfed in flames in Fish Creek Provincial Park. Police said the death remains classified as undetermined, as it's not yet known if the death was criminal in nature or a suicide. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Police said that victim has not been identified and the body does not match any missing personsreport. The victim is believed to be a Caucasian man, who was over six feet tall. Police are asking anyone who may be missing a loved one to file a missing personreport if they haven't yet done so.

Officers are also investigating a shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured in Rundle on Dec. 30.

• Calgary shooting victim identified, 2nd victim remains in hospital

2 other deaths under investigation

The five suspicious death investigations follow two from the previous week, one of which has been deemed a non-culpable homicide.

At 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 27, police received a call from an upstairs tenant of a fourplex in the 2500 block of Ninth Avenue S.E. after she heard a disturbance between two occupants downstairs.

Police arrived at the Radisson Heights hometo find a 48-year-old man dead. A 39-year-old man was taken into police custody.

The man's death was ruled a homicide, but a police investigation determined the homicide was non-culpable so no charges will be laid. A non-culpable homicide is a situation where someone is killed by accident or through self-defence, police said.

It's believed the deceased victim allegedly assaulted the 39-year-old man at a gathering, and was fatally injured.

Boxing Day shooting still under investigation

And police continue to investigate a fatal shooting that happened in Montgomery on Boxing Day.

Schiavetta saideven though that shooting was targeted, a number of bullets flew through a busy intersection, putting the public at risk.

"We're very fortunate that a passing bystander was not killed," he said.

Police have located a person of interest in that case, Mohamed Ahmed, in Ontario.

The victim of that shooting, Farah Handule, was a suspect in a 2017 Ottawa homicide.

Police said they continue to search for a white Dodge Durango that is believed to be connected to that investigation.