Knife-wielding man shot to death by police

A man who claimed he had killed his wife and then confronted Calgary police with a knife was fatally shot by an officer on Thursday night.

The man phoned 911 and said he had just killed his wife, said police Chief Rick Hanson at a news conference on Friday.

When officers responded to the Karima Towers in the 1500 block of 26th Avenue S.W. at about 9 p.m. on Thursday, the man, who was covered in blood, approached them with a "large knife" and acted aggressively, said Hanson.

Police first tried to subdue the man with a stun gun but it was unsuccessful, so a male officer fired at him three times, killing the suspect, said Hanson.

"Repeated, additional demands to drop the knife were ignored and the aggressive behaviour of the man towards the police escalated, putting the officers at risk, resulting in the shooting," said Hanson.

The officer who fired his gun had two years of experience with the force, he said.

After police secured the scene, they found a woman inside a fifth-floor apartment in "medical distress," said the chief.

'It was a reaction to the situation by the man armed with a knife. It was not an overreaction.' —John Dooks, Calgary Police Association

He said the officers, as well as paramedics who arrived later, tried to revive both individuals, but they were pronounced dead at the scene.

The officers at the scene have expressed frustration that they could not rescue the female victim, said John Dooks, president of the Calgary Police Association.

The homicide unit and the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which was created this year to look into shootings involving police in the province, are investigating.

"I can tell you we have no pre-conceived notions going into this investigation," said Cliff Purvis, director of ASIRT. "We will conduct a thorough, professional, objective investigation that seeks the truth."

Dooks said he believes the officers acted appropriately to the situation: "The officers' actions in this case [were] a measured tactical response. It was a reaction to the situation by the man armed with a knife. It was not an overreaction."