A bullet riddled wall and door provide insight into what occurred Wednesday night. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public safety

Police investigate drive-by shooting at East Flat duplexes

Jul 18, 2024 | 11:42 AM

An exchange of gunfire between a vehicle and a home in the East Flat of Prince Albert has residents on edge.

Police were called to the 300 block of 9^th Ave. East for a weapons complaint around 10:20 p.m. Wednesday night. Police located evidence of gun shots being fired at a home. No one in the house was injured, but shortly after 10:30 p.m. police were notified that a woman was at the Victoria Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries consistent with a gunshot wound.

A press release issued by police stated that officers attended, spoke with the victim, and located and seized a vehicle involved in the incident. The public is being asked to contact police if they heard or witnessed anything suspicious in the area.

Kathryn Hughes heard the shooting and witnessed part of the aftermath. She had been visiting her daughter and was walking to her car when she heard a series of shots being fired.

“There was about four shots initially and I knew it wasn’t fireworks, so I ran back to the door. I didn’t have the key to her house with me, so I’m banging on the door and there’s more shots going off in more rapid succession,” she said.

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Hughes ducked while waiting for her daughter to open the door.

“Then I saw a white van screeching around the corner from 9^th Ave coming on to 4^th Street East going very fast and speeding off.”

A closer look at the damaged wall. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

A picture taken Wednesday night. (Submitted photo)

Hughes said she’s now making her daughter move because she doesn’t feel like the area is safe.

“Just having it happen that close to her, you just think ‘Oh my God.’ I have a granddaughter who lives in that house and I just don’t want her to be witnessing anything like that or for my daughter to be scared in her own home.”

Hughes acknowledged crime is a problem in areas other than the East Flat, but there have been too many incidents within her daughter’s neighbourhood.

“People have tried to break into her garage, even though its all boarded up. There’s a little shed in the backyard that someone had set fire to before she moved in. About a month ago, someone had tried to break into the garage and left a whole bunch of stuff behind, including the barrel off of a shotgun and other things that looked like they were probably stolen,” she said.

Hughes believes crime in Prince Albert is a complex problem indicative of the situation many people find themselves in.

“I don’t know if that was gang activity or if it was a robbery. I really don’t know. But we do know that Prince Albert has a lot of break and enters and crime, just like any other city,” Hughes said.

“I think it’s a very difficult problem to address and to stop. I don’t think it will ever be stopped.”

The Prince Albert Police Service continues to investigate the drive-by shooting. So far, no arrests have been made.

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @princealbertNOW