Bail granted man charged in shooting

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on August 5, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Lethbridge man who was charged in relation to a shooting last December and then denied bail the following month in provincial court, has been granted bail by a higher court.

Bira Jamal Ahmed was released – with several conditions – from remand custody following a bail review Wednesday in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.

Ahmed, 24, who was initially denied bail Jan. 24 in Lethbridge provincial court, is charged with aggravated assault, assault with a weapon, discharging firearm with intent to endanger life, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, using a firearm in the commission of an offence, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a loaded/restricted firearm, possession of a firearm obtained by the commission of an offence, and failure to comply with a release order.

Police responded to a report of a shooting just after 10:30 p.m. Dec. 29 outside a residence in the 800 block of 7 A Avenue North. A 49-year-old Lethbridge man was taken to hospital with a gunshot wound and was listed in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said a verbal altercation between two men turned violent after one of the men left then returned later in the day and fired a gun during a second altercation.

Police were unable to find a suspect immediately after the shooting, but about noon the following day officers stopped a vehicle in the 3200 block of 1 Avenue South and arrested two individuals. One of the individuals was released without charges.

Investigators said the suspect and victim previously knew each other, and the incident was not random.

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