Roads in the northeast Calgary community of Falconridge were closed Saturday evening and Calgary police asked Calgarians to avoid the area.
Calgary police said officers responded to community of Falconridge around 5 p.m. Saturday for reports of two groups engaged in violence. Police said they believed 150 people were initially involved and when they arrived, they separated the two groups who were in conflict and de-escalated the situation as many individuals involved were using weapons.
Superintendent Cliff O’Brien of the Calgary police service’s north division spoke at a press conference Saturday night and said, “our officers responded to the northeast community of Falconridge for reports of two groups actively engaged in violence. It is believed that up to 150 individuals were involved and upon arrival officers separated the groups that were engaged in the conflict and de-escalated the situation as many of those individuals in the groups were brandishing weapons.”
The Calgary police said they considered this to be a serious event and dedicated resources to keep the peace and said it was not a protest and instead a violent conflict between two groups with opposing views.
In a press release issued late Saturday night, police asked Calgarians to avoid the community of Falconridge in the areas officers were assessing and that they are working with the involved groups to maintain the peace.
According to a YYC Transportation post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the incident happened on McKnight Boulevard and Falconridge Boulevard Northeast. Falconridge Boulevard was closed in both directions between Castleridge Boulevard and McKnight Boulevard Northeast.
The post also said various roads are closed in the area and motorists are advised to use different routes.
Police said they continue to work with partners to ensure public safety and are actively investigating all associated criminal activity including violence and property damage.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
