Canada-wide arrest warrants have been issued for a suspect in a 2023 shooting at West Edmonton Mall — adding him to the ranks of the country’s most wanted.
Edmonton police on Wednesday announced investigators have identified 24-year-old Leron Andrew John as one of the suspected gunmen in the Aug. 21, 2023, gunplay, which injured three people and sent stray bullets travelling as far as five blocks. He has been added to the federal BOLO (be on the lookout) program’s top 25 most wanted.
“Our firearms investigations unit officers are working with the BOLO program to help locate Leron John for his role in a brazen outdoor shooting that took place at one of the world’s busiest shopping malls during daylight hours,” EPS Staff Sgt. Eric Stewart said in a Wednesday news release.
“Numerous civilian vehicles were struck, a stray bullet travelled five blocks and struck a parked vehicle in a residential area near playgrounds and a school, and this shooting event was the catalyst for a lockdown event at West Edmonton Mall that caused people to have to shelter in place for hours while a police tactical unit cleared the facility.”
The shooting, which police believe was targeted, took place in a mall parkade around 7:40 p.m. Four men were reportedly leaving the mall when a second group in a white SUV approached and an “exchange of gunfire ensued.” Three men were struck and later taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A handgun was found inside the mall.
John is the first to be charged in the violence. He is wanted on charges of discharging a firearm with intent, reckless discharge of a firearm, possession of a prohibited firearm, and altering the serial number of a firearm.
His whereabouts are unknown, but police said he has ties to Edmonton and the Northwest Territories and is also wanted for gun and drug offences in Fort Resolution, a community on Great Slave Lake. He is considered dangerous and potentially armed.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Edmonton police or Crime Stoppers.
John is described as five-foot-six, 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
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