Bullets narrowly miss sleeping children in ‘targeted’ shooting of Edmonton home: police

A mother and her three daughters have fled Alberta following a relentless shooting in their home. Edmonton Police say gun violence has seen tremendous spikes over the last three years. Elliott Knopp reports.

By News Staff

Posted January 31, 2023 1:39 pm.

Last Updated February 1, 2023 12:31 am.

Police allege two men fired more than 10 shots at a north Edmonton home occupied by a mother and her three daughters last month.

The Edmonton Police Service believes the Dec. 7 shooting was “organized” and the family was “targeted” – but investigators don’t know why.

None of the family members were known to police.

Edmonton police say two men shot at the front and back of the home, which is in the area of 148 Avenue and 89 Street, around 11:30 p.m. They were reportedly targeting bedroom windows.

Police say while there were no injuries, “bullets narrowly missed the children who were asleep in their beds.”

“This shooting is baffling to us,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart in a statement. “The video clearly shows that the shooter deliberately took aim at this house, but there is no evidence to suggest the family is involved in any criminal activity. In fact, they are so terrified for their safety, they have since left the city.”

WATCH: ‘Targeted’ shooting of north Edmonton home on Dec. 7 (EPS)

“We spoke to the mother, obviously traumatic for her and her kids. Just the way the windows were situated on the residence, where these kids of hers were in bed at the time, I’m talking inches. If they would have panicked or stood up or ran around the house, they could have been struck by one of these bullets going into the residence.

“It caused her so much concern that she decided to leave Edmonton and leave the province. It’s affected her and her kids immensely.”

Stewart explains why police believe the shooting was targeted despite the suspects seemingly not knowing the family.

“The planning around it, that went into this shooting,” he said. “You can see it’s very planned as the one shooter comes around the rear of the residence, he’s motioning to another individual at the front of the residence. And they know a specific residence they’re looking at, because front-back they both hit the same residence when they were firing.

“They believe they were firing on the right residence. That’s why we went with targeted.

“If this were random, you’d see more of a sporadic type of event. But this was very planned, very calculated. And you bring two shooters to a house like that, it’s well thought out.”