Man shot dead in standoff with police

Calgary police shot and killed a man early Sunday after a two-hour standoff in the southwest community of Southwood, the third fatal shooting by city police in the last nine months.

Police responded to a complaint at about 12:50 a.m. in the 500 block of Sabrina Road S.W. that a man with a sawed-off shotgun was holding hostage his 19-year-old neighbour.

The area was cordoned off and at some point, the man in a home was shot by an officer, police said.

No officers were injured but the man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was taken to hospital where he died, police said.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, the government body that investigates such incidents, has been assigned to examine the actions of the officers involved in the incident, police said.

"It's still very early in the investigation," said ASIRT's Cliff Purvis, who expects to release more information Monday.

Calgary Police Service Chief Rick Hanson said in a news conference Sunday afternoon the officer who fired the fatal shots is a member of the tactical team with about 20 years experience.

In March, Calgary police shot and killed Travis Oakes as he tried to ram his way out of a city car wash in a stolen vehicle.

Last September, police shot and killed Walid Mohamed Maragan, who had earlier stabbed his wife to death in their apartment, and refused officer commands to put down a butcher knife.