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Alberta Watchdog Clears RCMP Officers in Fatal Shooting of 15-Year-Old Indigenous Boy

ASIRT cited the officers' reasonable belief of a gun in a backpack as grounds for legal defences under the Criminal Code.

Overview

  • ASIRT released a 27-page report on Nov. 6, 2025 concluding there are no reasonable grounds to lay charges, applying Sections 25 and 34.
  • Investigators say officers fired up to 17 rounds as Hoss Lightning advanced with his arm inside a backpack that appeared to conceal a firearm.
  • No gun was found after the shooting, though Lightning had earlier surrendered a machete and a knife after calling 911 for help.
  • One or both officers continued firing for roughly four seconds after Lightning fell, which the report deemed reasonable in the circumstances.
  • The report notes Lightning, a Samson Cree Nation youth reported missing from a group home, had a cognitive delay and that video interpretation was complicated by low light and emergency lights.