Two dead following Dec. 27 shooting near Grande Prairie, Curtis Halladay in custody

Grande Prairie RCMP confirmed that two people are dead following a Dec. 27 shooting and that 42-year-old Curtis Halladay was arrested. Halladay was known to both victims.

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How police determined who their suspect was is still unknown. It was approximately 10-hours after the first call to emergency services that police intiated a Dangerous Person Alert for the northwestern part of the province.

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Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, public information officer for the RCMP’s Central Alberta District, said it was the nature of the incident and that Halladay’s state of mind and possession of firearms that had the agency issuing the alert. Public safety was the priority. Level Critical, the highest of the three levels issued by the agency, was released at approximately 11:24 a.m. Less than two hour, at 12:38 p.m., it was cancelled. RCMP confirmed they had their suspect in custody.

Savinkoff said the need to alert the public to the ongoing risk meant releasing information that included Halladay’s name. No photo was available at the time.

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They knew Halladay was moving and that he had a cache of firearms. The alert described him as “on the run”, in a newer model Ford truck and last seen in the LaGlace area.

Following the arrest, less than 24-hours after the initial call, investigators focused on getting a package together to present to court.

Social media pages have mentioned names of the two people believed to be victims of the shootings. Police have neither confirmed the names of the victims nor the exact location of the shootings. Their bodies were reportedly found in a rural area approximately 35 kilomtres east of Grande Prairie.

A media event later in the afternoon of Dec. 28. at the local detachment, added Savinkoff. Details have yet to be confirmed as the court processes can be extended and the media scrum could be impacted by that.

Editor’s note: A change was made to correct the spelling of Curtis Halladay’s name.

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