Two people have been arrested after a forensic lab matched spent cartridge cases to a seized firearm in separate investigations.
At around 12 a.m. on Dec. 11, 2023, police received multiple reports of gunshots in the 700 block of Avenue H South. When officers arrived, they found that the suspects had since fled the area but located several spent cartridge cases nearby. There were no victims found and no injuries were reported. Members of the Guns and Gangs Unit assumed carriage of the investigation, with assistance from Patrol, and submitted the spent cartridge cases to the RCMP’s National Forensic Laboratory Services (NFLS) for further analysis.
Then, on Dec. 20, 2023, as a result of a separate investigation, a 36-year-old man and 23-year-old woman were arrested and found to be in possession of a loaded firearm. It was seized by police and submitted to the NFLS.
In March, the Saskatoon Police Service received the results from the NFLS that positively matched the spent cartridge cases from the Dec. 11 investigation to the seized firearm from the Dec. 20 investigation.
As a result, the man and woman, both from Saskatoon, are facing numerous firearm-related charges.
In a continued effort to combat gun crime within the community and province, a temporary ballistics lab operated by the Saskatchewan Firearms Office will soon be operational within the Saskatoon Police Service’s Headquarters. The lab will contain specialized equipment that is expected to expedite forensic results and conclude investigations more efficiently.
