Town of Edson rallies for grieving family of store worker fatally shot during robbery

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The Town of Edson is rallying together after a store empoyee was fatally shot during a daytime Thursday robbery.

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Just after 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, officers were called to the shooting at the sporting good business on 50 Street in the town about 200 km west of Edmonton. Mounties say a man staff didn’t know went into the shop with a gun, and while attempting to rob the store fired a weapon, injuring the employee.

The worker sufered critical injuries and was transported to hospital by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) where he later died.

RCMP said the suspect fled the area in a vehicle, leaving behind a gun. While the vehicle was later located by police, a suspect has not been arrested.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the Town of Edson Mayor Kevin Zahara said the community is deeply saddened by the man’s death.

“We offer our sincerest condolences to the family who are dealing with unbelievable grief following this tragic event,” Zahara said.

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“In true Edson fashion, I know our community will rally around them and provide support any way we can. We also offer our thoughts and prayers to the business owner, colleagues and friends.”

In a separate Facebook post, Councillor Peter Taylor echoed Zahara’s words. “I offer my deepest condolences to the victim’s family,” he said.

Leaders in the town and Mounties are asking that anyone with information about the robbery to contact police by calling the Edson RCMP detachment at 780-723-8822 or their local police department. Tips can also be anonymously submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), or by contacting them online at www.P3Tips.com.

Store owners getting injured or killed during robberies is still relatively rare in Alberta.

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But back in 2015, Ricky Cenabre and Karanpal Singh Bhangu worked as clerks at two separate south Edmonton Mac’s stores. Both were shot and killed in two separate robberies on Dec. 18, 2015, after three people, including a youth who was 13 at the time, entered the stores wearing masks, gloves and carrying a handgun and demanded cash, lottery tickets and cigarettes.

In 2018, Iain Armstrong died of injuries after he clashed with a man who was attempted to steal a cashbox from a kiosk at Edmonton’s Southgate Centre. Armstrong owned a flower store in the mall. He was punched six times, fell and hit his head and went into cardiac arrest. He was pulled off life support three days later.

In 2020, a clerk at the Bluffton City General Store was shot during an armed robbery. After a suspect refused pay for his gas and groceries at the store in the central Alberta hamlet, the clerk confronted the man and was shot. The clerk sustained a non life-threatening injury.

ajunker@postmedia.com

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