A photo taken of a wall inside a Prince Albert after an alleged gang related incident last weekend. (Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Community safety

Woman sent to hospital following shooting incident at Prince Albert apartment building

Mar 17, 2022 | 5:00 PM

A man who lives at the Tamaron Square apartment building on Prince Albert’s east side said he was awoken Saturday morning by the sound of multiple gun shots followed by the sounds of yelling and screaming.

The man, whose name paNOW promised not to publish, said around 7:40 a.m. he heard a loud bang, and his three-year-old child jumped up and went to the door to get a closer look, but was quickly pulled away. Another young child was sleeping in the bedroom.

“I didn’t realize right away there was people shooting and they were shooting the door to get in,” the man described.

He then explained that once the people got into the apartment, more shots went off.

“I heard everything…. let’s get the hell outta here… you shot and blew my arm off,” the man recalled.

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The neighbour recalled there was a young couple living in the apartment, along with an older man and two young children — a three-year-old and a nine-month-old.

“It was all gang related,” he said.

A picture taken inside the bedroom where the woman was allegedly shot in the arm. (Submitted photo)

Prince Albert police have confirmed a 23-year-old woman was taken to hospital in Saskatoon on Saturday with injuries to her arm, following a shooting at a residence in the 1400 Block of 28th St. E. No arrests have been made and police continue to investigate. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact their local police detachment or Crime Stoppers.

When asked if he had ever spoken to management about the gang issues, the distraught neighbour told paNOW management has ignored them. He did however mention that issues related to people smoking and doing drugs in the hallway had been deterred thanks to the introduction of fines of $250.

The front door was no match for the shotgun blasts. (Submitted photo)

Indicating his own intentions to move someplace else, to a different apartment at Forest Grove, the man said that plan was put on hold this week when a fire there caused substantial damage.

“The only option we have is to stay put,” he said.

When paNOW reached out to Ward 6 Councilor Blake Edwards for comment, he had not heard any specific details about this incident, he did confirm there have been issues at both the apartments at 15th Ave. and 28th St. E, as well as at Sherman Drive and 28th Street.

“I think more inspections should occur certainly within the apartments. It’s tough and it’s certainly a difficult topic,” he said.

Edwards went on to explain that gangs and issues related to drug trafficking are both a community and a provincial issue.

“Often the crime that is occurring is beyond what city hall can do. I do believe that it’s time the city and the province and the federal government and the First Nation governments get together and discuss what we can do,” he said.

Expressing frustrations with issues being constantly put on the shelf, Edwards said as a community we can no longer just stand by.

“There’s lots of residents that complain but don’t offer any solutions. We certainly need some ideas from residents as well. We need to listen to the residents,” he said.

paNOW has made multiple attempts through email and by phone to contact the building manager at Tamaron Square, but had not received a response by publishing deadline.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell