The Red Deer RCMP and RCMP Serious Crimes Branch (South) continue to investigate the events of Christmas Day where a suspect in a serious sexual assault of a 47-year-old woman and attempted murder of a 20-year-old male, was later shot by police and died.
At the time of the police shooting, the RCMP were attempting to arrest the suspect for the sexual assault and attempted murder when he was seen operating a stolen front-end loader and colliding into numerous unoccupied vehicles in an industrial park in northwest Red Deer.
The RCMP are appealing to the public to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575, or their local police service, or Crime Stoppers if they witnessed or captured on camera any of the movements of the suspect in the stolen front-end loader or have any other information about these events.
The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) will take carriage of the investigation into the shooting of the deceased according to Province of Alberta protocols, while the RCMP will remain as the investigating agency for the earlier sexual assault and attempted murder, collisions with vehicles and theft of the front-end loader.
Meanwhile, the Red Deer RCMP and RCMP Serious Crimes Branch (South) continue their investigation into the death of a person found deceased in downtown Red Deer near 50th St. and 50th Ave. early Christmas morning.
Investigators have now identified the deceased as 46-year-old Thomas Patrick Braconnier from the Red Deer area. The RCMP believes his death is as a result of foul play, and an autopsy has been scheduled for Dec. 28th at the Office of the Medical Examiner in Calgary to determine the cause of death.
The investigation thus far does not indicate that the public is at any undue risk, and can state that this investigation is unrelated to the RCMP involved shooting in Red Deer later that day.
The RCMP are appealing to the public to contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575, or their local police, or Crime Stoppers if they have any information that may assist the police in this investigation.
