The 60-year-old German man is now recovering from surgery after being shot in the head during an apparent road rage incident west of Cochrane yesterday.
The man was driving west on Highway 1A near the Good Stoney Rodeo, when he was hit by a bullet, causing a collision.
"He has been upgraded to stable but critical (condition)," said Sgt. Tom Kalis with the Cochrane RCMP.
However, it is not certain if there will be permanent brain damage.
"Anytime there's a brain injury there's concerns about that," Kalis said. “Before he was picked up by the air ambulance he was conscious and speaking to police."
There were three other occupants in the car who police say are related to the man.
Police confirmed that another driver had begun to pass the victims' car, lowered the passenger window, pointed a firearm and discharged it at the driver.
After the bullet hit the driver, the car went off the road near a wooded area before hitting a tree.
"The road rage is presented in absence of a clear motive," Kalis said. "What we can confirm is it was a targetted incidence."
The passengers of the car sustained minor injuries in the crash and were taken to hospital while the driver was airlifted by STARS ambulance to a Calgary hospital.
The RCMP General Investigation Section (GIS) from Calgary, Forensic Identification Section, Collision Analyst and Police Dog Services have all been deployed to assist in this investigation. An R.V. was driving eastbound on Highway 1A, through Morley, between 11:45 and 11:55 a.m., and the male driver witnessed this collision which prompted him to call 9-1-1. The R.V. stopped at the collision, and departed shortly after. The RCMP are asking that the citizen associated to the R.V. please contact the Cochrane RCMP. Police are interested in speaking to any other witnesses to this incident. If you have any information, please call the Cochrane RCMP at 403-851-8000 or call your local police detachment. If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), by internet at www.tipsubmit.com, or by SMS. About Author
There was a substantial police presence on scene including Police Dog Services, a collision analyst and RCMP members patrolling with assault weapons.
The RCMP believe that a small black sedan may be in involved in this incident, with a male in the vehicle being described as Caucasian, with long dark hair.
"We are investigating a bunch of leads. We are pursuing intelligence as it's coming forward; we've got a lot of really good input from the community and we're super happy about that," Kalis said.
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