On July 14, 2024, shortly after 4 a.m., a vehicle in the area of 109A Avenue and 110 Street was loudly revving its engine. An 18-year-old female came out onto the balcony of her apartment to ask the driver of the vehicle to quiet down. The male suspect, who was visiting a nearby location and was being picked up by the vehicle’s driver, then approached the vehicle and began arguing with the female, who was still outside her apartment. The suspect fired one shot at the female before getting into the vehicle, which then fled the scene.
EPS Patrol officers responded and confirmed that the female was not physically injured; however, she continues to suffer ongoing mental and emotional trauma as a result of the life-threatening encounter. This shooting was determined to be completely random, as the female and the accused are not known to each other.
The EPS Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) took over the investigation and were able to identify the shooter as Jackito Guiawan, 19, and a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest.
FIU worked with the RCMP and were able to determine that Guiawan had left Edmonton for Yellowknife, NWT. On August 29, 2024, Yellowknife RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) executed a search warrant on a home in Yellowknife, where Guiawan was arrested. During the search of the home, three firearms were recovered, along with evidence of drug trafficking. Guiawan was lodged on several charges stemming from the Yellowknife investigation.
In September 2024, EPS FIU traveled to Yellowknife to arrest Guiawan on the Canada-wide warrant, and he was charged with discharging a firearm with intent, discharging a firearm recklessly, possession of a firearm knowing it is unauthorized, unauthorized possession in a motor vehicle and possession of restricted firearm with ammunition.
EPS Firearms Examination Unit (FEU) conducted ballistic analysis on one of the firearms seized, and formed the belief that it was the same gun used in the shooting.
“This shooting is a prime example of the gun violence in our city that our units are prioritizing. We do not take these public occurrences lightly and will not stop at city limits to apprehend those responsible for gun violence in our city,” says Staff Sergeant Eric Stewart, with the EPS Guns and Gangs Section. “Unprovoked, random attacks on innocent civilians will not be overlooked, and the expansion of our Firearms Investigation Unit will continue to prioritize these occurrences, as well as actively pursue those involved.”
Handgun police believe was used in the random shooting
EPS Firearms Examination Unit (FEU) would like to thank Yellowknife RCMP GIS for their assistance in this investigation, in which inter-agency cooperation was critical to the successful conclusion.