Edmonton police are investigating after two cars collided and the occupants of the vehicles exchanged gunfire Sunday morning in a west-end residential neighbourhood.



The incident happened at around 8:30 a.m. near 159th Street and 103rd Avenue, where police say a black Honda Civic and black Chrysler 300 were involved in a collision. Shortly after, the occupants of the cars got into an altercation and exchanged gunfire.

When police arrived at the scene, both vehicles were empty and no one involved in the incident remained at the scene.

Scott Dunphy, who lives in the area, said he heard gunfire shortly before 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. (CBC) Local resident Scott Dunphy said he heard a gunshot outside his home at around 8:15. Dunphy, who said he's an experienced shooter, described the sound as a shotgun blast. He said police arrived "within a minute" of the first gunshot.

"There was a rolling gunfight down on 159th Street in front of our house," Dunphy said. "Then next thing you know, we just had cops and guns everywhere."

Dunphy said he watched a man jump out of a vehicle, which then rolled into another vehicle on the other side of the street. At this point the people involved began shooting at each other, he said. The man who jumped out of his vehicle tried to jump over a concrete fence, dropping his cellphone in the process, he said.

"The neighbour's Jeep, it got struck by a ricocheting bullet," Dunphy said. "We've had tactical running around here all morning, so it was an interesting Sunday morning to wake up to."

Dunphy said he saw police tow two vehicles from the neighbourhood, including a black pickup truck.

No one injured, witnesses wanted

Insp. Regan James said police are still trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"We're not sure if this is a road rage thing, if this was an intentional act, the collision, or just an event that occurred and then there was an altercation after that, so it's still kind of up in the air," James said.

James confirmed up to four people, men and women, were involved in the collision and gunfire. He said police checked area hospitals and residences, but no injuries have been reported. James could not confirm what type of guns were used.

Two to three homes and one car were damaged, he said.

One man was arrested near the scene of the collision.

"We've tracked down the registered owner of one of the vehicles and that person is in custody," James said. "It remains to be seen whether that person was actually involved, but that person's been arrested on unrelated matters and we'll be speaking to that individual in relation to this morning's event."

Luckily no one was actually out on the street. - Insp. Regan James

James said the neighbourhood is normally quiet, and not an area police would often patrol or from which they would receive many emergency calls. He said this is likely an isolated incident and that residents should not be concerned for their safety, but added it's "frustrating" from a policing standpoint to see this happen in a residential area.

"...that collateral risk to other people out walking their dog in the morning or going for a coffee, that's the big concern here," James said. "Luckily no one was actually out on the street."

Police are now asking any witnesses to this event to contact them.

"There still seems to be a lot of uncertainty as to whether this was an intentional act," James said. "So if there's anyone out there that can help us put some of those questions to rest, we'd certainly like to talk to them."