An emergency alert has been issued as Calgary police search for a man they say is armed, dangerous and suspected of being involved in the deaths of his wife and her father.
An Alberta Emergency Alert issued just after noon Monday said there is a dangerous man armed with a firearm in the areas of northwest Calgary and Bearspaw.
The suspect — Benedict Kaminski, 38 — is six feet tall with brown and grey hair and was last seen wearing a grey, red and white shirt, driving a 2022 black Nissan Pathfinder with Alberta plate CLN 5276.
That’s the same vehicle and plates Calgary police said it believed to be driven by the spouse of one of the victims found dead on Sunday night.
Calgary Police Service major crimes section Insp. Lee Wayne said during a Monday afternoon update the alert was based on the suspect’s last known location on Sunday night — but now, he could be anywhere in Alberta.
“His whereabouts is unknown,” Wayne said.
“This isn’t just a Calgary operation. We’re working in conjunction with our law enforcement partners in the province and across Canada in order to apprehend this offender.”
Benedict Kaminski, 38, is wanted by Calgary police.
Calgary Police Service
Initially, police said there was no threat to public safety as the deaths were believed to be targeted and domestic in nature, however that changed on Monday afternoon.
While Wayne said police still believe the incident was targeted, as more information came out Monday morning, investigators felt it was in the public’s best interest to issue the alert.
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The Calgary Police Service issued the dangerous person alert for the city and surrounding area just after noon in relation to the suspect in the double homicide Sunday in the neighbourhoods of Kincora and Tuscany.
Police believed Kaminski could be in northwest Calgary or near the Bearspaw area, or even farther away now.
Residents in the communities of Bearspaw, Rocky Ridge, Tuscany and surrounding areas were asked to be on the alert.
“Do not open the door to strangers and if you see the suspect do not approach and call 9-1-1 immediately,” police said.
Anyone with information about this incident or who knows the whereabouts of the suspect is asked to contact police.
Kaminski has access to firearms and may have one of them in his possession, Wayne said.
Calgary police have a large team working on the case.
While the homicide investigation is ongoing, Wayne said a second critical incident team is working to find the suspect. Police are hoping the public can lend their eyes and ears to the search, but are urging people to keep their distance.
“We don’t want anybody to interact with this individual,” Wayne said, urging people to not approach Kaminski if he is spotted.
He added Kaminski was not known to police and had no previous criminal convictions.
The motive behind the killings is not yet known, Wayne said, but did acknowledge the domestic relationship between the victims and suspect.
While the identities are not yet confirmed, police again repeated Monday afternoon they are fairly confident the suspect’s wife and father-in-law are the victims in the case.
Police said at about 9:30 p.m. they responded to reports of a person in medical distress on Kincora Grove N.W. Officers arrived and found a man in his 70s dead.
Later in the evening, police found a woman in her 30s — believed to be the man’s daughter — dead in the 300 block of Tuscany Ridge Heights N.W.
“I’m absolutely heartbroken. They were such a lovely, happy family,” said Diane Lincoln, who was neighbours with the man who died.
“They were always together. The daughter dropped the mom off yesterday at 3 p.m., popped in here,” she said on Monday morning.
Lincoln was sitting in her living room watching a movie with her husband when she heard a bang around 8:40 p.m. Sunday.
“It’s not unusual; I thought somebody slammed the car door. I looked over at my husband and he didn’t flinch — because he’s usually the one who does — and I thought, ‘OK, well, I’m carrying on watching the movie.’ And then we heard a commotion at about 8:45 p.m. with the police, and that’s when the son came home.”
Lincoln said a husband and wife lived next door with their son, and their daughter visited often.
“The daughter had a husband and three children. Her youngest one is probably about one now. Lovely family. I would have never expected anything like this at all,” she said.
“I’m heartbroken and horrified.”
Police did not confirm if children were involved, citing privacy in light of how recent the deaths happened, but did say other family members are safe and secure.
“Our thoughts are with the family that are drastically impacted by this double homicide,” Wayne said.
No arrests have been made.
Autopsies are scheduled for Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.
With files from The Canadian Press
— More to come…
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