EDMONTON — Alberta's top Mountie says a weekend shooting that left three officers injured was an unprovoked attack.
Deputy Commissioner Marianne Ryan told CHED radio in Edmonton that the shooting came from out of the blue and the officers are lucky to be alive.
The RCMP and Alberta's Serious Incident Response Team continue to investigate what happened Friday in the small town of St. Paul, east of Edmonton.
Police have said shots were fired at the RCMP detachment and moments later a police vehicle pursuing a suspect was rammed by a truck.
A shootout followed and a man inside the truck, the owner of a health food store named John Quadros, died at the scene.
About the same time, RCMP discovered a Catholic priest, Father Gilbert Dasna, had been shot dead inside his rectory.
Ryan says bullets that went through a cruiser's windshield grazed one officer's hand and sent glass flying into another officer. The two men have been treated and released from hospital.
The third officer, a woman, received the most serious injuries when the RCMP truck she was in was rammed by the suspect's vehicle. She has had surgery to her feet and will likely need more surgery in the future, Ryan said.
"When I was talking to her — I visited her on Saturday — she was in very good spirits, very anxious to get back on the job, which is truly remarkable."
