REGINA – The RCMP are seeking any assistance they can get in connection to a shooting on Highway 39 near Weyburn in which one woman was killed.
RCMP Senior Investigative Officer Ashley St. Germaine provided the latest update on the situation Sunday afternoon at F Division. She indicated that the incident is considered a random act.
"Last night, shortly after 8 p.m., Saskatchewan RCMP received a report of a person who was seriously injured while traveling in a vehicle on Highway 39 near Weyburn.
"This is what investigators know right now. Two adult females were travelling together in a black Ford Explorer on Highway 39, driving towards Weyburn last night around 8 p.m. The two women were the only vehicle occupants. A loud crack was heard. An investigation to date indicates someone discharged a firearm, which struck and entered the travelling Ford Explorer, injuring the passenger, a 44-year-old female from Weyburn. The female died at the scene, and it was determined that she had been shot.
"Her death is considered suspicious, and Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes Unit is now investigating. The victim's family has been notified, and our thoughts are with them during this very difficult time.
"The adult female driver of the SUV, also from the Weyburn area, did not report any injuries to police. She is not considered a suspect and is not in police custody.
"At this time, investigation indicates that this incident may be random in nature. We are asking the public to remain vigilant. We recognize the information we share may cause concern. We know you have questions, and it's our job to thoroughly investigate and to get answers. We will share those as we learn them and are able to. We continue to carefully monitor this unfolding situation, and if an urgent public safety risk is identified, we will notify the public immediately. At this time, no other reports of suspicious activity or people have been reported to the Weyburn RCMP that would be considered connected to this incident.
"We're asking the public for their help. Perhaps you know or saw something last night. Did someone say they were going target practicing? Did you see a vehicle driving erratically on Highway 39 or any other suspicious activities? These are just examples, but we want to investigate the full scope of possibilities. Please report any information you have to police, even if it doesn't seem significant. If you have information to share, please call 911 in an emergency or 310 RCMP in nonemergencies. If you have information that you want to report anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. The public can expect to see an increased police presence in the Weyburn area as this investigation continues."
As for how this incident happened, St. Germaine said they are still very early on in the investigation.
"What we know is that there was a firearm that was used and a shot entered the back of the vehicle. We are still in the infancy of determining exactly how that happened and so that's one of the things that our investigators will be trying to determine exactly."
As for whether there a risk to the public, St. Germaine said they do not believe that there is any increased risk to the public. "Should something change and that risk assessment changes that we do believe there is some kind of risk, we will notify the public immediately."
In terms of what people can expect on the roads and highways in that area on a Roughrider game day and with many people driving to Regina, St. Germaine said in that area there is "definitely an increased police presence as we're working through forensic examination of the scene and trying to gather from the area any additional information that's going to forward the investigation. So that's what people can expect right now in the province as they're making their way to different events."
As for whether people can expect stop checks, St. Germaine said she could not speak to that specifically because some of that will be determined based on how the investigation goes.
"So right now, I'm not aware of any stop checks being planned. However, that is subject to change at any point. And just to be fair on that point, a stop check could be done that is not actually related to this particular investigation as part of traffic service to the province."
As for what the public can do to help, St. Germaine is asking for any dash cam footage or information they might have.
"Anything that the public might have, anything suspicious or out of the ordinary that they might have seen or heard last night, any potential video from different properties, dash cam video, cell phone video, anything that might help us. We need all the information that we can get because we don't know right now and the public doesn't know right now what little piece might be the turning point for our investigation. So we want to get every single thing that we can to forward this investigation."
