ASIRT concludes investigation into fatal Sylvan Lake shooting

Alberta’s Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) has concluded an investigation involving the death of a central Alberta man this summer.

On Aug. 6, 2023, at approximately 3:17 a.m., officers with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police attended a call for assistance from a residence in Sylvan Lake. ASIRT says the information police received indicated that a man was armed with a shotgun and had barricaded himself in a bedroom. Officers entered the home and began speaking with the man, who stayed in the bedroom.

ASIRT says the attending officers wore microphones linked to their vehicle’s recording devices, which captured the interaction. During the brief conversation, ASIRT says the man expressed a desire to harm himself and said he did not wish any harm to the attending officers.

The man stayed in the bedroom and did not have any physical interaction with the attending officers before shooting himself. ASIRT verified that none of the attending officers had used their weapons, confirming the man’s injuries were self-inflicted.