The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is called in to investigate police after any serious incident in Alberta. Photo by Postmedia

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A police confrontation after a bizarre series of combination hit-and-run collisions and blunt-object assaults led to an officer-involved shooting fatality Friday night in southwest Edmonton.

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Around 11:58 p.m., city police were called by Edmonton Fire Rescue Services (EFRS) for assistance following a collision between a vehicle and an EFRS truck.

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“It was reported that the male driver of the vehicle attempted to assault emergency personnel with a blunt object before fleeing the scene,” said a Saturday afternoon police news release.

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A similar vehicle was reportedly involved in two other hit-and-run reports in southwest Edmonton.

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“In those incidents, a male driver allegedly assaulted complainants with a blunt object before fleeing. One driver sustained minor injuries,” said police.

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Officers located a residence on Christie Vista S.W. Edmonton, where a vehicle matching the description from the earlier incidents was observed in an open garage.

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The vehicle appeared to have recent collision damage.

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“Officers contained the residence, and when attempting to make contact with the subject, a confrontation occurred between a male suspect armed with edged weapons and one officer discharged a firearm,” police said in the release.

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“Officers attempted life-saving measures; however, the 59-year-old male was pronounced deceased at the scene by EMS.”

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No officers or other emergency personnel were injured.

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Edmonton police submitted a 43.2 notification to the CEO of the Police Review Commission, who has directed the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) to conduct an investigation into the case.

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The fatality follows on the heels of an RCMP officer-involved shooting fatality in Cold Lake on Thursday.

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In an emailed response to a previous Postmedia Inquiry, according to the Police Review Commission’s (PRC’s) Q4 data report, between Dec. 1, 2025 and March 31, 2026, ASIRT opened 20 Level 1 investigations involving the most serious matters, including death, serious injury, or serious and sensitive allegations.

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“The report doesn’t break those ASIRT files down by incident type, such as officer-involved shootings. Future public reporting is expected to include additional layers of analysis and more refined categorization as our new reporting system matures,” said a response emailed Saturday from Jason van Rassel, senior manager for community connections for the PRC.

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