Calgary police officer recovering from 'severe' injuries after machete attack

The Calgary police officer who wasattacked by a machete-wielding man at Marlborough Mall remains in hospital recovering from severe injuries.

The officer, who has been on the force for about two years,responded to reports of a man swinging a machete at the Marlborough LRT station around 2 p.m. Saturday.

When the officer approached him,the manraninto the mall.

The officer chased him into Sears, wherethe man pulled out a 48.3-centimetremachete.

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Calgary police say the officer tried to subdue the man with aTaser, but it had no observable impact.

The officer drew his gun andthe man attacked, slashing the officer and causing severe injuries, police said.

The officer shot the man.

EMS took both men to Foothills Hospital. The officer isin stable condition and the man in serious, life-threatening condition, having to undergoemergency surgery.

Police saythe machete-wielding man is20yearsold andis known to them.

Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is now investigating.Anyone with information is asked to call police at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

The incident was one of two Saturday police shootings thatASIRT is now investigating.

About an hour earlier, officer pulled a silver pickupover near the Blackfoot Truckstop Diner and as they approached it, noticed the driver acting suspiciously with a rifle next to him.

The driver was told not to move, but he put the vehicle in reverse and crashed into a black minivan before going forward.

Amemberwith 20 years experienceshot at the vehicle and it crashed into a natural gas meter, severing the line. The 23-year-old drivertried to flee on foot and was arrested suffering minor injuries, likely from broken glass, police said.

He was not hit by a bullet.

A 15-year-old girl also in the vehicle was later released to her guardian.

The area had to be evacuated while crews repaired the gas lines.

"The first... incident I would characterize as a discharge of a firearm, nobody was injured as a result," said ASIRT executive director Susan Hughson.

"But the second incident where you have a person shot and in life-threatening condition initiallyand you have an officer seriously injured, that's obviously the more serious of the two."

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