15-year-old girl dead after Martindale shooting

A teenage girl is dead after reports of a shooting in a northeast Calgary alley early  Tuesday morning.  (David Bell/CBC - image credit)
A teenage girl is dead after reports of a shooting in a northeast Calgary alley early Tuesday morning. (David Bell/CBC - image credit)

Calgary police have confirmed that a 15-year-old girl died after being shot in the northeast Calgary neighbourhood of Martindale early Tuesday morning.

Officers were called to the 200 block of Martin Crossing Crescent N.E. at about 1:30 a.m. for reports of a shooting in an alley, police said.

The girl was in the passenger seat of a vehicle on the 300 block of Martindale Drive when she was shot, investigators said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

"We are still in the early stages of this investigation, and we have a lot of unanswered questions that we are working through," said Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

"At this point, we are unable to confirm if this shooting was targeted, and we have dedicated a significant amount of resources to identify any persons involved."

Next of kin has been notified and the victim's identity will be released following an autopsy on Wednesday.

Police are hoping anyone with information about the shooting will contact authorities or Crime Stoppers.

This is Calgary's third homicide of the year.