Pubdate: Wed, 25 Nov 2015
Source: Calgary Sun, The (CN AB)
Copyright: 2015 The Calgary Sun
Contact: http://www.calgarysun.com/letter-to-editor
Website: http://www.calgarysun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/67
Author: Shawn Logan, with files from Jim Wells
Page: 3

COPS MAKE ARREST IN DRUG WAR DRIVE-BY

Suspect caught trying to board plane Faces seven firearms charges and
escaping custody Freed by courts before investigators finished their
shift

Wanted for a brazen drive-by shooting this summer, cops collared the
suspected gunman moments before he boarded a plane at Calgary's
airport over the weekend.

Undercover officers backed by uniformed police made the arrest around
5 p.m. Saturday, converging on the man as he went through the Air
Canada baggage check on his way to an unknown destination.

The suspect, identified as 24-year-old Tarek El-Rafie, was wanted in
connection to an Aug. 15 shooting which saw a hail of bullets fired
from a moving vehicle at another occupied vehicle in the 100 block of
Whitehorn Cres. N.E. about 7:20 p.m.

No one was injured and investigators said the victim has not been
co-operative.

Both the suspect and victim were believed to be known each
other.

Staff Sgt. Quinn Jacques with the police Guns and Gangs Unit said the
man is linked to the surge in violent crime on Calgary streets, that
so far in 2015 has seen some 90 shooting incidents, about one every
four days.

"He was attempting to fly out - we don't know if it was planned or if
it was an impromptu trip," he said.

"We were not aware of him prior to the (August) incident."

El-Rafie appeared in a Calgary courtroom Monday, charged with seven
firearms offences linked to the August shooting, along with dangerous
driving, assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest and escaping
custody in connection with another incident.

After his appearance, El-Rafie was released on his own recognizance
and is now back on the streets - an admitted frustration for Jacques.

"We're forced to keep an eye on him now," he said.

"He was out of custody even before the investigators were able to
finish their shift."

Police have seen a significant shift in firearms use linked to a
violent ongoing drug turf war, with at least 14 homicides resulting
from shootings this year.

"I'm in my 25th year and I've never seen it like this," Jacques said,
adding investigators are hoping for more arrests to quell the violence.

"We move forward inch by inch, day by day - but it doesn't move fast."
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MAP posted-by: Matt