Calgary Gangster Wanted With Warrants Across Canada, Accused Of Killing Mother Of 5 | CBC News


A convicted Calgary gangster on warrants is wanted across Canada in the death of an innocent bystander in a car crash that orphaned the victim’s five children last week.

Police originally believed the collision was the result of a road rage incident involving gunshots, but now believe it began as an attack directed at another driver.

Talal Amer, 29, faces charges of attempted murder, manslaughter, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm with a serial number removed, and various other weapons-related offenses.

Amer was once charged with six counts of attempted murder in connection with a violent street war in Calgary around 2015.

He eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and had about three years left to serve his seven-and-a-half-year sentence handed down in May 2019.

Amer is now accused of chasing down and shooting a man who was driving a Volkswagen Jetta. The incident caused two uninvolved vehicles to be struck at a Forest Lawn intersection.

Angela McKenzie, 40, died in the accident, leaving behind five children, who had lost their father three months earlier.

Amer ‘the aggressor’, police allege

Police initially described the situation as a road rage incident, but now say the investigation has led officers to believe the target of the shooting was the driver of the Jetta.

Those inside the Jetta “did not exchange fire as previously thought,” police said in a written statement issued Monday.

Police say Amer was the only person in what was determined to be a stolen Chevy Silverado.

Investigators allege that Amer “was the assailant” and chased after the Jetta, shooting at it before finally colliding with McKenzie’s vehicle.

“Our investigators have worked day and night to identify the person responsible for the tragic death of Ms. McKenzie,” Homicide Unit Staff Sgt. Sean Gregson.

“This incident was a display of careless and senseless violence in our community, and we believe that Talal Amer was solely responsible for Ms. McKenzie’s death.”

Last Tuesday, shortly after 11 p.m., police received several calls about shots fired and two vehicles driving erratically on SE 36th Street.

Multiple homes were hit by gunfire and two uninvolved vehicles were hit on 17th Avenue SE

Calgary gang war in 2015

In 2015, Calgary had 100 shootings, twice as many as the year before.

Amer and members of his family, including his brother and his cousins, were involved in a bloody street gang war at the time.

Amer was charged in 2016 with instructing the commission of crimes for a criminal organization plus six counts of attempted murder.

He ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless discharge of a firearm and conspiracy to traffic drugs after four people were shot on Nov. 29, 2015, while sitting in a parked Cadillac Escalade in a residential neighborhood.

Amer said he was leaving the life of crime

Amer and his brother were sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. With credit for time served, they had about three years left behind bars.

During his 2019 guilty plea, Amer said that he had accepted responsibility for his actions and wanted to move on with his life.

One of the hallmarks of gun and gang violence around 2015 was family connections.

That year, the Calgary Police Service’s weapons and gangs unit compiled a list of about 60 people considered “high-level” participants in the gangs. The idea was to help frontline officers identify them and determine if any were violating court-ordered conditions.

On that list were several members of the Amer family, including Talal, her brother Barakat, and two cousins, Badar and Abdul.



Reference-www.cbc.ca

Leave a Comment