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(File photo/ paNOW Staff)
Court proceedings

Man shot while sleeping in backseat of parked vehicle: court testimony

Oct 22, 2020 | 10:00 AM

A man who had passed out in the backseat of a vehicle outside a residence where people were drinking and partying, was suddenly awoken after being shot.

This was among the facts read out in court last Friday at the sentencing hearing for Tristan Whitefish. The 21-year-old received a 26-month sentence after entering guilty pleas to aggravated assault and possession of a rifle without a licence. He also entered guilty pleas to two charges of assaulting a peace officer that had occurred on a different occasion.

The shooting incident occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 22, 2019, on the Big River First Nation. RCMP members received a call of a discharged firearm that had resulted in injury.

The subsequent investigation revealed Whitefish had shot a .22 rifle into the back tinted window of the vehicle. The 33-year-old victim was hit in the left forearm. Both the accused and the victim were intoxicated at the time. The victim, who was conscious when police arrived, was transported to the hospital in Shellbrook, and released later that morning.