Shooting suspect has bail condition altered

By Delon Shurtz - Lethbridge Herald on January 13, 2023.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDdshurtz@lethbridgeherald.com

A Calgary man who was charged in relation to a shooting more than a year ago in Lethbridge has been allowed to change a condition of his bail that will enable him to visit his children in another city.

Bira Jamal Ahmed was released from custody last August following a bail hearing in Lethbridge Court of King’s Bench, and was ordered to comply with numerous conditions, including a curfew which,Â with some exceptions, prohibited him from leaving his home or property.

During a hearing Thursday inÂ Lethbridge provincial court, the curfew condition was amended to allow Ahmed to travel to Red Deer to visit his children one day a week. His remaining conditions remain unaltered, including a condition that prohibits him from being in Lethbridge.

Ahmed, 25, 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 prohibited or 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, 2021 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.

The case is scheduled to return to court March 9 and 10 for a preliminary hearing in Lethbridge.