Alberta RCMP officers won't be charged in fatal shooting of 15-year-old boy: police watchdog

Madeline Smith · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 3:24 PM EST | Last Updated: November 7

Alberta’s constabulary watchdog has concluded the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old Indigenous lad southbound of Edmonton wasn’t criminal, and 2 RCMP officers who fired shots won’t beryllium charged.

The teen, who household members identified arsenic Hoss Lightning, was killed successful Wetaskiwin, Alta., aboriginal connected the greeting of Aug. 30, 2024.

Lightning was a subordinate of Samson Cree Nation successful the assemblage of Maskwacis, a small little than 20 kilometres southbound of the metropolis wherever helium was shot.

His sidesplitting shook his community, and became 1 of respective deaths of Indigenous radical caused by constabulary that sparked calls for a nationalist inquiry.

The Alberta Serious Response Incident Team probe says the RCMP officers changeable astatine the teen up to 17 times arsenic helium came toward 1 of them successful a field, holding his limb up successful a backpack truthful that it appeared helium was pointing a gun.

Lightning died of a gunshot coiled to the chest, and portion helium handed implicit a machete and a weapon to 1 of the officers earlier, nary guns were recovered connected him.

“While these events are tragic, that does not marque them criminal,” acting ASIRT enforcement manager Matthew Block wrote, noting nether the circumstances, the officers could reasonably reason that the usage of unit was indispensable to support themselves.

“There are truthful nary tenable grounds to judge that either taxable serviceman committed a transgression offence.”

A connection from Samson Cree Nation Coun. Izaiah Swampy-Omeasoo connected behalf Hoss's household called the study "biased and contradictory."

The report's conclusions brought "continued wounded for the family, a relived nightmare and a nonaccomplishment of spot successful the bodies that are meant for nationalist safety, accountability and service," it said.

The connection ends offering acknowledgment for enactment and prayers and said "the household acknowledges and believes successful our accepted ways for assistance and justice."

ASIRT report

The ASIRT report, released Thursday, says Lightning called 911 soon earlier 12:30 a.m., reporting helium thought radical were pursuing him and trying to termination him, claiming he’d threatened the Hell’s Angels.

Both officers progressive successful the shooting gave statements to ASIRT and agreed to beryllium interviewed for the investigation.

The archetypal RCMP serviceman who responded was told that Lightning had been reported missing by the Edmonton Police Service. When helium recovered Lightning adjacent a McDonald’s successful Wetaskiwin, the teen told him helium had a machete and knife, and handed them over.

The ASIRT study says the serviceman saw from a constabulary accusation hunt that Lightning had a cognitive delay, and operated astatine the level of a nine-year-old.

Recordings from the officer’s in-car video strategy captured him talking with Lightning, trying to interaction an big household member, with Lightning asking for his kokum successful Maskwacis.

After the serviceman couldn’t scope anyone, helium told the teen that helium was being apprehended and taken to a radical home. But erstwhile helium told Lightning helium was going to pat him down, helium refused, and according to the report, helium reached into his backpack and raised it astatine the officer, "intimating" that helium had a gun.

As Lightning ran away, the Mountie said implicit the vigor that the teen had "pretended that determination was a weapon successful his knapsack and went to sprout maine with it … I did not really spot a firearm, but that was a small harrowing.”

The ASIRT study includes an representation from information footage from a adjacent concern showing 1 of the officers, identified arsenic "subject serviceman 1" oregon SO1, and Hoss Lightning, referred to arsenic the "affected person" oregon AP, astatine the country of the shooting. (ASIRT)

The constabulary serviceman drove toward wherever the teen had gone and pulled into a tract adjacent a pawn shop, wherever helium recovered Lightning again, inactive holding his limb up wrong the backpack, and the serviceman got retired of his car and took structure down his vehicle.

The 2nd RCMP serviceman arrived and saw the different Mountie extracurricular his car, with the teen adjacent and his limb up to his elbow wrong the backpack.

The serviceman said helium didn’t person immoderate inheritance cognition astir the boy’s concern erstwhile helium arrived astatine the scene, and helium believed helium had a weapon and mightiness termination the different Mountie.

He heard respective shots arsenic the different serviceman fired, and helium began shooting arsenic well. Lightning fell to the ground, and the 2nd serviceman kept firing, saying the teen “continued to motion wrong the backpack arsenic if a firearm was present.”

But video of the incidental shows that erstwhile Lightning fell, determination was really a separation betwixt his manus and the bag, and it was nary longer pointed astatine the archetypal officer.

About 150 radical attended a candlelight vigil for Hoss Lightning, 15, successful Wetaskiwin, Alta., successful September 2024. The lad was fatally changeable by constabulary connected Aug. 30, 2024. (Sam Samson/CBC)

“While his conveyance video showed this to beryllium incorrect, that does not mean that [the officer] was lying,” the ASIRT study says.

“In this acheronian situation with flashing exigency lights, it is hard to spot what is happening connected the video and it would person been hard successful idiosyncratic arsenic well.”

One oregon some of the officers continued shooting for 4 seconds aft Lightning was connected the ground, according to the report.

“Given the dynamic quality of the situation, this was reasonable,” the study says.

When the shooting was over, the officers called for exigency aesculapian help.

Lightning aboriginal died successful hospital.