EDMONTON — A police standoff west of Edmonton in Parkland County that prompted an emergency alert Saturday afternoon is under investigation after one of the armed suspects was shot by police.

EPS responded to a reports of a stolen vehicle on Saturday afternoon around 12:05. The suspects involved in the incident were still on scene at a property near 218 Street and Stony Plain Road, according to police.

“As the EPS cruiser approached the stolen vehicle, the suspect vehicle rammed the EPS vehicle, before entering into a criminal flight at a high rate of speed travelling west of the city,” said EPS in a news release.

EPS followed the vehicle, which eventually turned west towards Enoch Cree Nation on Highway 628 and came to a stop. Police said the people inside the vehicle got out and “shots were exchanged between the suspects and the EPS member.”

The suspects then got back into the stolen vehicle and fled, but rolled the vehicle and trailer into a ditch and fled on foot into a nearby farmer’s field.

Mounties said in a tweet at 2 p.m. that armed suspects were at large and encouraged residents to stay in their homes or shelter in place.

An Edmonton Police Service cruiser seen leaving the police containment area near the active incident (CTV News Edmonton)

The alert was in effect until 4:24 p.m. when officials said there was no longer a danger to the public and that two suspects were in police custody.

Police told CTV News Edmonton that while an alert was originally issued for two suspects, there were three suspects. RCMP later clarified that there were only two people police were searching for but could not say where the mixed information came from.

EPS and RCMP searched the area with drones and an Air 1 helicopter. Two suspects were found in a treed area and arrested.

Police formed a perimeter around what they described as a “containment area” on Saturday during an incident involving armed suspects in Parkland County, Alta. (CTV News Edmonton)

RCMP said no officers were hurt during the standoff.

One suspect was injured during the incident and was taken to hospital by EMS with a non-life threatening gunshot wound. The other was taken to hospital for precautionary reasons, according to EPS.

Highway 628 between Highway 60 and Range Road 264 will be closed for the remainder of the day as police continue their investigation.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), the provincial law enforcement watchdog, is investigating the police incident. ASIRT is mandated to investigate law enforcement when a serious injury or death occurs. 

On Sunday, police released the names of the two suspects involved in the police incident and the charges they faced in connection with the incident.

Cody Gregory Goebel, 31, who police say was the passenger in the stolen vehicle and who was shot by an officer faces charges of:

• Assaulting a peace officer
• Obstructing a peace officer
• Discharging a firearm with intent to evade arrest
• Unsafe transportation of a firearm
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a vehicle
• Possession of a weapon dangerous to the public
• Theft under $5,000
• Breaching conditions of a release order

Ryan David Goebel, 32, who police say was the driver of the stolen vehicle faces charges of:

• Flight from a peace officer
• Assault with a weapon
• Unsafe transportation of a firearm
• Unauthorized possession of a firearm in a vehicle
• Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle
• Possession of a firearm contrary to an order
• Operating a motor vehicle while prohibited
• Theft under $5,000

The two men facing charges in relation to the incident are brothers. According to Edmonton police, drug-related charges may be laid.

EDMONTON — The regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations in Alberta and the chief of the Enoch Cree First Nation agree that renaming Edmonton’s CFL team is a step in the right direction towards reconciliation.

“It’s a small gesture, but within the bigger picture reconciliation is a never-ending road. It might be cliche, but you take it one day at a time,” says Enoch Cree Chief Billy Morin.

On June 1, the team unveiled its new Edmonton Elks branding, 10 months after the team agreed to change its name from the Eskimos – a racial slur against Inuit peoples.

“It should have happened a long time ago, but hindsight’s always easy,” says Morin, who gave credit to the franchise for making the right call after a decade of debate.

AFN Regional Chief Marlene Poitras says this small goodwill gesture pales in comparison to the horrific discovery of the remains of 215 Indigenous children on the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., but is nonetheless part of a broader cultural shift towards taking Indigenous peoples’ concerns seriously.

She agrees it should’ve happened sooner, but is likewise pleased that the name is changed, which she pointed out was relatively easy, since the team didn’t have to change the acronym on their logos. “It’s way overdue. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report about 10 years ago and now things are finally starting to happen,” Poitras said. “It’s about time.”

Morin says he didn’t play a significant role in having the name changed beyond “general conversations” with the franchise’s former CEO, crediting Inuit organizations for their advocacy. “They were engaging with Inuit communities and I thank them for keeping the dialogue open and working with communities to reach an ultimate solution,” he said.

The new name reflects the diversity of the team’s fanbase, says Morin, who reflected back to when the Grey Cup was in Edmonton and he was invited to say a land acknowledgement before the singing of O Canada. “A lot of small things, ultimately when you reflect back, they add up and can lead to bigger things collectively,” he said, calling the name change a “milestone”.

“I’m glad reconciliation played a role in that and I do wish them well going forward. I’m actually a big Elks fan. I’ve got to get used to saying that name myself … My dad used to take me to games.”

Poitras says the name change could only broaden the team’s following in the region. “They’ll continue to maintain their fans and continue to get some new ones because of their reconciliation efforts,” she said.

“There’s so much work we need to do to eliminate systemic racism and if more organizations or people took small steps, it would certainly be a lot more meaningful for Indigenous people everywhere.”

Elks CEO Chris Presson acknowledged that the change “was probably a few years overdue, to be honest.”

“But I’m glad that we’re where we are now,” Presson said. “No doubt we made the right decision.”

As recently as February 2020, the team said they would keep the Eskimos name after the results of a year-long consultation process were inconclusive, but reversed its position several months later due to a backlash from sponsors, such as insurance provider Belairdirect.

“Man, it’s been a whirlwind,” Presson told TSN. “We wanted to make sure we got it right, we wanted to make sure we did the proper research and we wanted to make sure we created something that was special, and we have.

“When you look at the history of the Edmonton Football Team and the CFL itself, there’s a lot there to see. To know you are a part of that and you had a chance to make an impact like this, it’s pretty special.”

Elks was one of seven finalists for the new name, all of which started with the letter `E’ – Evergreens, Evergolds, Eclipse, Elkhounds, Eagles and Elements.

The original option was to call the team the Elk', but upon consultation with linguists at the University of Alberta and the Oxford Dictionary, they determinedElks’ would be more appropriate.

The new name “reflects the speed, strength and resilience of the Green and Gold and Northern Alberta,” reads a statement from the organization.

After the 2020 season was cancelled due to COVID, the CFL plans to be back in action this year for a 14-game season starting Aug. 5.

EDMONTON — An early morning shooting in northeast Edmonton sent one man to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Edmonton police responded to the Glengarry neighbourhood in the area of 90 Street and 133 Avenue around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.

The victim was found in a home and was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound.

No further details were available.

EDMONTON — Since last summer, a Spruce Grove, Alta., teen has been carving out a niche for himself with an entrepreneurial venture. It’s a budding young business that’s been gaining more recognition every week.

Around his neighbourhood, 16-year-old Harding Garratt is known by another name: Tie Dye Ice Cream Guy.

A couple of times a week, Garratt takes his vintage Dickie Dee’s ice cream bike for a spin – to sell frozen treats to anyone who wants them.

“I get a lot of people asking where I got it from,” the Grade 10 student told CTV News Edmonton from outside his house, “asking numbers, how old I am.”

It’s an occupation the teenager comes by honestly.

“We were buying ice cream,” said Garratt, “and my mom went on a huge, ‘Back in my day we used to have the Dickie Dees man come around,’ and then she said, ‘We should get one of those for you.'”

But finding his vintage Dickie Dees ice cream bike wasn’t so easy.

“It took a long, long time,” said Garratt. “We went through a bunch of  steps to find it.”

Thanks to a $4,000 loan from his parents, the teen was able to purchase his bike from an online auction in Thorhild, Alta.

They then had the relic restored to its former glory.

Garratt says he has since managed to pay off the debt owed to his mom and dad.

Now that he’s fully permitted by the city and also insured, the Tie Dye Ice Cream Guy uses social media to announce his upcoming routes.

While the neighbourhood kids may reap some icy, sweet rewards from the 16-year-old’s entrepreneurial spirit, Garratt admits he gets a lot out of it too.

“It’s good exercise,” he said. “It’s a great job. I can’t think of a single better job that I would rather have.” 

The young ice cream man says he plans to ramp up his services this summer, with the goal of earning enough money to buy himself a different ride.

“I’m going to get a car,” he said. 

The teenaged entrepreneur says he’ll continue his ice cream business for “a couple of years” past high school with the hopes the venture will help fund another passion of his. 

“During that time I’m going to be practicing making clothes, designing, sketching figures – until that’s good enough to sell to the point where I can slowly phase out the ice cream.”

Until then, his self-appointed job of neighbourhood ice cream man will just have to do.

“Why wouldn’t I want to be an ice cream man?” said Garratt. “It sounds great.”

EDMONTON — An Indigenous elder in Edmonton is calling on the prime minister to do more to help keep the Catholic Church accountable for its role in the residential school system.

On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on the Catholic Church to “step up” and take responsibility for its role in the residential school system.

He noted that he personally asked the pope back in 2017 to consider making an apology for the institution’s part in church-run, government-sponsored schools for Indigenous children that operated for more than 120 years in Canada.

“We’re still seeing resistance from the church,” Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa. “Possibly from the church in Canada.”

Trudeau said it’s going to be important for Catholics across the country to reach out themselves to bishops and cardinals on this issue. He added that Catholics need to make it clear they expect the church to take responsibility for its role in the residential school system and help efforts in reconciliation.

“Make it clear that we expect the church to step up and take responsibility for its role in this,” he said. “Be there to help in the grieving and the healing, including with records that are necessary.”

For Augustine, the prime minister’s remarks fell well short of standing up for Indigenous people.

“I think our prime minister could step it up and hold (the church) accountable,” Augustine said. “This is a criminal act.

“It’s an act of genocide and he needs to name that. Not cultural genocide, because when a human body is found that’s no longer cultural.”

The Indigenous elder told CTV News Edmonton that it is unacceptable for the Catholic Church to refuse releasing archival documents.

“This cone of silence that this church has put on since these children have been buried, they know about it and how many other children (have been lost),” she added. “That’s being an accomplice in the crime of murder. In a mass murder.”

“Release the documents, because what criminal can get away with keeping documents hidden, evidence hidden,” Augustine said. “Why is it that the Catholic Church can do that?”

Augustine and a group of Indigenous-Edmontonians have been outside St. Joseph’s Basilica for six days gathering pairs of shoes and making tipis.

A group of Indigenous-Edmontonians have been constructing tiny tipis and placing them in front of St. Joseph’s Bascilica in Edmonton to help honour those lost at the Kamloops Residential School (CTV News Edmonton)

In Augustine’s view, it is not enough for the prime minister to ask Canadians to pressure the Catholic Church to release records.

“Justin, wake up,” she said. “You’re being too soft. Man up Justin!”

Richard Smith, Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, said in a statement that the archdiocese is committing to releasing any documents on residential schools that it has.

“We regret and acknowledge the role played by Catholic organizations in the residential school system, and in sorrow offer profound condolences to the families and communities,” he said.

Back in 2014, Archbishop Smith, on behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Alberta and the Northwest Territories, apologized to Indigenous peoples who experienced sexual and physical abuse while attending Catholic administered residential schools.

The archdiocese committed to “full transparency” for its archives and records, and offered any support to help Indigenous peoples and the “long road towards reconciliation.”

With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson

If you are a former residential school student in distress, or have been affected by the residential school system and need help, you can contact the 24-hour Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419

Additional mental-health support and resources for Indigenous people are available here.