Only one homicide was reported in the City of Airdrie since 2020, while the surrounding area of Rocky View County saw eight within that same timeframe.
In 2022, a 20-year-old Alexander James Thorpe of Airdrie was charged with the second-degree murder of his mother, Melanie Lowen. It was the city’s one and only homicide in four years.
Thorpe was held at the Southern Alberta Forensic Psychiatry Centre and after being found to be not criminally responsible for the murder by reason of a mental disorder he continued his stay at the centre.
Most recently in 2023, he was still considered a threat to public safety and not entitled to an absolute discharge, but was granted specific supervised trips.
The county witnessed two homicides in both 2023 and 2022, with zero in 2021 and four in 2020.
On June 9 2023, Airdrie Rural RCMP responded to the report of a suspicious death in the area of Range Road 284 and Township Road 264. An autopsy was conducted at the Calgary Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the manner of death was deemed a homicide. The victim was identified as 24-year-old Jaiteg Singh Waraich.
RVC’s first homicide of 2023 was reported in Langdon on May 26, which also happened to be the small town’s second homicide in just nine months.
Upon arrival at the scene in Langdon, a female was located unresponsive, stated a press release, adding she was taken to a Calgary hospital in serious condition. A 31-year-old male, a resident of Langdon, was arrested at the scene and the female victim later succumbed to her injuries and died in hospital.
Earlier, a homicide victim was found in a burning vehicle near Langdon in November 2022, and a targeted, fatal shooting of former Calgary gang member Trong Minh Nguyen also took place in Langdon in October 2022.
Reports of burning vehicles or dumped homicide victims have not been uncommon in Rocky View County, with several being linked to homicides occurring in the City of Calgary.
RCMP said earlier this year that some investigations are still ongoing and it is difficult to comment on each case.
RVC saw its first murder victim of 2024 on Jan. 28 after shots were fired at the Mountain View Campground near Conrich, east of the City of Calgary.
Gunshots were reported to have been fired at the Mountain View Campground on Range Road 284 and Highway 1 and a 26-year-old male from Calgary was later found in the campground suffering from gunshot wounds.
According to reports, EMS provided care, however, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
