Evidence from the bullets shows that a gunshot was used to kill two Edmonton police officers
Rich Albert was working at a Pizza Hut and was leaning against the counter when a stranger walked in and shot him in the head.
The gunman opened the door to the business around 12:30 a.m. on March 12. His face was hidden under a black hood. He pulled the trigger on a gun that was pointed at Albert’s face.
Albert’s head was hit by the bullet right above his left eyebrow.
Seconds after the gunman got there, he walked away, leaving Albert on the floor, unconscious.
Albert, who was 55, got a blow to the head and lost his left eye. He was first treated at the University of Alberta Hospital. Since then, he has been moved to a rehab center in Edmonton.
Leslie Albert, who is Albert’s sister, told CBC from her home in Regina, “It makes no sense at all.”
“It was a completely random act of violence, and my brother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
It is thought that the same person who shot Albert also killed two Edmonton police officers four days later in a surprise attack at an apartment complex near Pizza Hut.
On March 16, Constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan were helping a family with a problem when a 16-year-old started shooting. He shot both officers several times, then shot his mother and hurt her before using the gun to kill himself. His mom is still in the hospital.
The two crime scenes are linked by evidence of bullets. Police say that a bullet casing from the shooting on March 12 has been matched through forensics to the gun that was found at the scene of the police shooting.
Detectives are trying to figure out if there is a link. Investigators are also trying to find out where the gun came from and how it got into the hands of the teen.
When the gunman started shooting, Albert was about halfway through his shift at the Pizza Hut To Go near 133rd Street and 114th Avenue.
He was in very bad shape when he was taken to the hospital. He spent several days in intensive care, where he was sedated and breathed through a tube.
Now that he is in a rehabilitation center, his sister said that he can walk and talk, but he is still in pain. She said that he is having trouble speaking and that his muscles are weak all over.
Leslie said, “He looks like the brother I know and love.” “The only things that have changed are the words and phrases he uses and the frustration I see when he can’t say what’s on his mind.”
She said that it’s not clear what will happen to her brother in the future because of the brain injury. “We don’t know what skills he has lost or what skills he will keep,” she said.
She still has hope that he will get better. When she got the call about the shooting, she thought it was impossible. She said that she was “totally and completely shocked.”
She said, “A hundred things go through your mind.” “Will he make it? is he going to die? And what will he be like if he does live? You know, I feel so many different things.”
His sister said that Albert’s wife Norma has been his “rock” and has been by his bedside every day.
Albert had been delivering pizzas for Pizza Hut for about six months when he wasn’t at his regular job. His sister said that he liked the work.
Since he grew up in Regina, he had worked as a delivery driver on and off for many years. She said that he liked talking to people.
Leslie has been to see her brother in the hospital. She said that his injuries have been hard on the family, but that they have been helped by the support of the community.
As of Wednesday, more than $24,000 had been raised to help pay for Albert’s medical needs.
She said that her brother knows about the police shootings, but he hasn’t talked to her about what happened to him or to the officers.
She said that both his physical and mental wounds will take time to heal. No one knows how long it will be before he is well enough to go home.
She said, “It’s going to be a long road.” “But I can still hear his voice, so I know he’s Rich.”
