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The person who was shot in the leg by Calgary police Thursday evening has been charged in connection with attempted carjackings and other reported crimes leading up to the incident.
Officers were called to the community of Temple shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday for reports of a man with a weapon who was acting erratically around Temple Drive N.E.
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The man had three interactions in which he demanded to obtain keys to vehicles while brandishing an imitation firearm, police said in a statement released late Sunday.
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In the first incident, a woman parking her car in the 6900 block of Temple Drive reported a man approaching her while pointing a firearm. She safely fled into her home and wasn’t harmed.
The second report involved two men standing outside a vehicle in the 0-100 block of Templebow Way N.E. They were approached by someone with a gun who demanded the keys to a vehicle, in which a third man, his daughter and his mother were seated.
The victims said they didn’t have the keys and the assailant, believed to be the same person from the earlier incident, struck one of the vehicle’s windows with his firearm before leaving.
The same attacker is also believed linked to a third incident, in which a man walking toward his home near Temple Drive was hit more than once with a firearm by someone who demanded the keys to his vehicle.
The victim was struck by what was believed to be an imitation handgun as he tried to walk away and was struck again after saying he didn’t have the keys. He was able to get away and call police.
“These incidents appear to be random, and none of the victims are believed to be known to the suspect,” Calgary police said.
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After police arrived on the scene and encountered the suspect, one officer shot him in the leg before he was arrested and taken to hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Police found what was described as a “handgun-style pellet gun” at the scene.
The shooting has been referred to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the province’s independent police watchdog agency, which is tasked with investigating law enforcement incidents that result in serious injury or death.
Akol Acuil Piok, age 36, has been charged with three counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a weapon and two counts of failure to comply with a probation order.
Piok is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
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