[加拿大新聞] Boy, 16, charged in shooting of German tourist

Quest

The Dodge Durango a German tourist was driving when he was shot in the head is taken from the scene. A 16-year-old boy has now been charged in connection with the incident. (Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia)

RCMP in Alberta have arrested a 16-year-old boy and charged him with attempted murder and possession of a prohibited weapon in the shooting of a German tourist west of Calgary earlier this month.

The 60-year-old victim was driving east on Highway 1A on Aug. 2 with his wife, son and son's girlfriend when he was shot in the head near the Morley rodeo grounds, about 55 kilometres west of Calgary.

The Dodge Durango he was driving veered off the roadway and crashed into a tree. The three other people in the vehicle suffered minor injuries and the injured man was flown to hospital in Calgary by STARS Air Ambulance.

• German tourist shot near Calgary shows signs of severe, life-changing injuries

The teen was taken into custody without incident on Aug. 24 on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, said RCMP Cpl. Curtis Peters at new conference on Tuesday.

The RCMP Serious Crimes Branch laid 14 charges against the teen, whose name cannot be released as per the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

"This investigation has been progressed by what I could call good old-fashioned police work," said Peters.

He said no further information will be released about a possible motive for the shooting. He did confirm that the suspect and the victim were not known to each other.

Doctors in Calgary were not able to safely remove the bullet from the German man's head. After nearly two weeks in hospital, the victim was flown to Germany, where doctors have since successfully removed the bullet.

It will be brought back to Canada to see if it's a forensic match with a firearm recovered by RCMP.

"He has a very long road of recovery ahead of him," Peters said. "This has been a life-changing event for him."

The family of the man, whose name has not been released, expressed gratitude to the investigative team for their work in finding and charging a suspect, Peters said.

The youth made an initial court appearance in Cochrane provincial court on Tuesday.

RCMP initially thought the shooting was a case of road rage, but later said they believe it may have been a case of mistaken identity.

Police detained a man in Cochrane, Alta., one day after the shooting and seized a black Chrysler Sebring from the same residence.

That man was released without charges.