CANMORE – A 27-year-old Canmore resident involved in a police shootout on Feb. 24 remains in a medically-induced coma in a Calgary hospital.
Austin Desylva was charged Sunday (Feb. 26) with aggravated assault of peace office and discharge of a firearm with intent. As of Wednesday (March 1), he was unconscious and in intensive care at a Calgary hospital, and therefore, unable to attend a first court appearance on multiple charges.
Police said the investigation is being undertaken by the Southern Alberta District General Investigation Section, Canmore RCMP, Canmore RCMP, Canmore General Investigation Section and Canmore RCMP Crime Reduction Unit.
Desylva was taken to Canmore General Hospital early Saturday morning with serious injuries. He was later transported to a Calgary hospital by STARS air ambulance.
Police said that a Banff RCMP officer and a Canmore man “exchanged gunfire” during a traffic stop in the mountain town at about 11:15 p.m. on Friday night.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) said Wednesday (March 1) police made a road stop at about 10:30 p.m. Feb. 24. During the road stop, police said a vehicle made a u-turn to avoid the area and began pursuing it.
The driver of the vehicle shot twice at the RCMP, hitting the windshield, and followed them to the cul-de-sac of 11th Avenue between 15 Street where the car became stuck in the snow.
Police fired on the car and the driver fled into the wooded area where he was found and taken to hospital.
The ASIRT investigation is looking at the use of force by the officer.
No officers were injured in the incident.
Desylva was previously charged with unlawful possession of a firearm Feb. 4 stemming from a December, 2022, incident.
The investigation was co-ordinated between Banff RCMP and Canmore RCMP, with RCMP’s emergency response team executing a search warrant at a Silvertip home.
Following that investigation, Desylva was charged with pointing a firearm, 20 counts of weapons offences, possession for the purpose of trafficking a controlled substance, and possession of property from a crime.
During the search warrant, police seized three shotguns – including two that were loaded – two loaded handguns, several rounds of ammunition, 260 grams of cocaine and $800 in Canadian money.
Three other Canmore residents between 36 and 45 were also taken into custody and released on recognizance.
Following the shoot-out late on Friday night, police issued a media release asking residents in the Larch area of Canmore to stay in their homes and avoid the area for about 90 minutes while the incident was ongoing.
During the incident, there was heavy police presence in the area of 11th Avenue between 15 Street and Larch Avenue.
Canmore RCMP officers, heavily armed emergency response team officers, a helicopter circling the area and more than a dozen marked and unmarked police cruisers were on scene.
The area is a well-populated neighbourhood, with a well-travelled path that goes along the Bow River near Larch Island.
Police were primarily focused on three areas near the Engine Bridge along the Spur Line Trail, multiple areas on Larch Avenue and the intersection of 11 Avenue and 15 Street close to Lions Park.
RCMP were mainly in the area of 11 Avenue and 15 Street, with multiple marked and unmarked police vehicles converging on the area at about 1:05 a.m. An ambulance attended the area at about 1:10 a.m., leaving at 1:15 a.m. with an unmarked police cruiser travelling with it to the Canmore General Hospital.
STARS later transported Desylva to a Calgary hospital with serious injuries early Saturday morning.
According to police, the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has taken over the investigation.
“The Alberta RCMP believes in processes that seek the facts and it’s important that processes taken to assess the actions of all those involved, including the police, are fair, transparent, and defendable," stated the media release. "This is why, as soon as we became aware of this incident, we immediately notified the Director of Law Enforcement and initiated our internal review process.
Throughout Saturday, police were on scene investigating the area. They largely focused a white Buick driven by Desylva, a police SUV that had been shot at and a nearby home.
The area of 11 Avenue and 15 Street remained cordoned off with police tape as multiple officers investigated the scene. A white Buick car – with roughly a dozen bullet holes – could also be seen behind the police tape, with officers spending time near the vehicle.
Multiple residents told the Outlook the nearby home was owned by part-time residents.
On Saturday afternoon, The Outlook spoke with multiple people who said they heard what they thought were fireworks before learning it was gunfire.
Others said when they heard a helicopter flying over the community, they believed it to be a STARS air ambulance call to assist with a rescue or transfer a patient.
Police could be seen using a camera drone to aid in the investigation.
A heavy towing vehicle came at about 4:45 p.m. as police cleared the investigation scene, with everything being removed shortly before 5:30 p.m.
Police said the investigation is continuing and more charges may be laud. Police are also encouraging any area residents with property damage from the incident to report to the RCMP.
In January 2011, an armed robbery suspect was shot and killed by RCMP while presenting a shotgun in a threatening manner as he got out of his vehicle surrounded by police on Railway Avenue in Canmore. The weapon the 62-year-old Canmore man had been waving ended up being a replica gun that shot plastic BBs.
In February of that same year, a man who attacked an RCMP officer in Banff with a needle was shot by police. He fled in a vehicle, but police took him into custody in Harvie Heights using a Taser to subdue him. The gunshot wound was not life-threatening.
