There was already a lot of emotion tied up in Kayte Donnelly's car.
When her grandmother passed away about 18 months ago, her last vehicle, an older-model, sky blue sedan, became Kayte’s first.
She was only 15, so the car sat in her parents’ driveway for a year. Then, at 16, she earned her driver’s licence, an important rite of passage for many teens.
A month later, she was speeding away from a man who had just fired three shotgun shots into the side of her Buick, her boyfriend bleeding profusely from his back, the car’s rear passenger side window blown into the back seat.
Erin Askewe, Kayte’s mom, posted about the terrifying ordeal on social media with hopes of identifying the suspect. She told the Gazette Wednesday her daughter was at a gathering at a home in the city’s Grandin neighbourhood Sunday night (Sept. 1). Kayte, her boyfriend, age 17, and another 17-year-old boy walked out of the home around midnight, trailing behind another group of friends who left in a white SUV.
As they walked to Kayte’s car, a white van was driving by on the street. Thinking this was the other group of teens, they flipped the driver off, a sort of “see you later” from one kid to another, Askewe said.
They realized almost right away that the vehicle was not the one carrying their friends.
“As they were getting in, Kayte noticed that the car had turned around,” Askewe said. “As she was starting (hers) up, he parked on the other side of the residential street.”
The driver got out, which is when Kayte noticed he was an older white man wearing jeans, said Askewe. She drove away with her boyfriend in the front and their friend in the back, toward the intersection of Grandin and Levasseur roads. They ended up behind another vehicle at a red light.
“She noticed and said to the boys, ‘That guy is coming up behind us.’ But those two were talking about how to get (to the friend’s house), so they weren't really paying attention.
“She saw him, the car pulling up and was like, ‘Oh, this guy's going roll his window down and give us crap.’ So, you know, he could talk to the side of my face, she thought," Askewe said.
“All their windows were up. There were no words exchanged and he just got out and shot. Like, the whole event between the moment they saw the car originally passing by, then to the moment they were shot, was no more than 90 seconds.”
Askewe said the man took three shots at them, spraying Kayte’s car with birdshot. Her boyfriend took two direct shots to the back. Kayte has pellets in her head; Askewe said the doctors left the shot in both their bodies because they were worried about causing more damage by trying to extract them.
“There were pieces of the plastic shell casing in (her boyfriend's) back, that’s how close he was,” Askewe said. “That's the only thing that they could remove.”
Kayte’s fight-or-flight response kicked in and she stomped on the gas, driving back into a residential neighbourhood and eventually finding a home with adults outside in the driveway on Hunchak Way.
That’s where Mounties and paramedics were called to at 12:51 a.m. Sept. 2, according to RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Troy Savinkoff. He said responding officers called in the assistance of the Edmonton Police Service helicopter, but couldn’t locate the suspect vehicle, a white minivan with tinted windows.
Investigators have canvassed homes around the intersection where the shooting took place and have appealed to the public for any security video they may have from that area between midnight and 1 a.m.
"We ask that residents of Heritage Lakes, Riel, and Grandin neighbourhoods that have surveillance cameras to have a look between the hours of 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. Sept. 2, 2024," a release issued Sept. 4 reads. "Please advise RCMP if you have footage of this white van or anything suspicious."
Back to school
Kayte hasn’t returned to school yet. She has a few close girlfriends who are up to speed with what happened, and they’re all fielding questions from other curious students.
“The shock is starting to wear off and she's had a lot of friends over the last day or two here, just showing her support. But it’s mentally exhausting for her," Askewe said.
“This isn't a big, big place, so all the kids know each other and it's going to be quite overwhelming for her," she said. "I talked to a counsellor at the school, and even some of her girlfriends, who you know are very up-to-date on what happened, are finding it quite overwhelming with all the other kids, you know, talking to them and asking, and just the reality that she's going to have to relive this for a while.”
They’re working on a statement ahead of her return to school, asking her peers for some time and patience.
“It's going to like, relive her trauma each time that she has to tell the story again, right? People have the best intentions and want to show the support, but without realizing that you just continue to poke the wounds.”
If you have any information about this crime or those responsible, please call the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700. If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the "P3 Tips" app available through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.