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Mitchell Chambers, 23, was shot to death December 7th, 2008.

Chambers was Edmonton's thirty-third homicide victim of the year.

Case status is open and active.

Calls came in to 911 at about 6:15 p.m. December 7th, 2008 reporting shots fired in the area of Lessard Road and 188th Street in west Edmonton.

Arriving officers found a man, reportedly shot in the head, sitting behind the wheel of an idling newer-model dark blue Dodge pickup truck.

The passenger side window was shattered.

"We've called the forensic identification team, and they're going to take over the investigation of the scene," Insp. Terry Rocchio told media.

"Homicide members have been called out and are responding to headquarters, and they'll send a member out to be in charge of the investigation to this point. We'll start interviewing neighbours and hopefully pick up some witnesses, and hopefully come up with a suspect."

Police closed down Lessard Road between the Anthony Henday and 184th street as they examined the scene. At least 15 police vehicles were in the area.

The pickup truck was parked in front of a house at 4703 188 Street. About an hour after police arrived, two people were seen being taken into investigative custody, including an older woman wearing a head scarf to cover her hair.

Officers spent the evening canvassing the neighbourhood looking for witnesses. Some residents told media they heard four shots.

One neighbour said his 10-year-old son peered out the window after hearing shots and saw a dark-skinned man in a white hoodie slumped in the driver's seat of the truck. The boy also saw someone exiting the passenger side, but he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, the father said.

Doug Cook also heard the gunshots.

"I heard four shots go off," he said. "And then I heard a vehicle roar away."

Another neighbour said he had seen the pickup truck earlier in the day and knew the home where the truck was parked for its three pit bulls.

"I always tell my kids to steer clear of that house because of the dogs," he said.

Another resident said the family with the dogs moved in two years ago.

"We've always wondered why they have so many big dogs," he said. "I figured they were breeding them."

Insp. Terry Rocchio said officers have had few problems in the area, which he called a "brand new" neighbourhood. Police initially did not indicate if there was any connection between the house and the shooting.

However, later on their web site entry for the murder, police said the victim was visiting his girlfriend at the time.

According to neighbours, a couple with several teenaged children lived in the house. A young woman who answered the door to reporters did not want to comment and would not say whether she knew the victim.

Investigators have not determined whether there was any gang or drug involvement in the shooting, but police said the victim was known to them.

"If it is the person that our officers believe him to be then he does have a history with the EPS," a spokesman said.

Friends identified the man as 23-year-old Mitch Chambers. Results of an autopsy confirmed he died of gunshot wounds.

Those with information about Chambers' shooting were asked to contact Edmonton police at 780-423-4567, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or online at www.tipsubmit.com.

Tips can also be text messaged. In Edmonton, text TIP250 + message and send to CRIMES (274637). In Northern Alberta, text TIP205 + message and send to CRIMES (274637).

In his memory, friends set up R.I.P Mitch and R.I.P Mitch Chambers, Facebook tribute pages.

The popular 23-year-old was much-loved and those who knew him said he was not involved in drugs or gangs – read more »

Originally from Newfoundland, Chambers moved out west when he was a child. He attended Hillcrest Junior High before graduating from Jasper Place High School. Chambers was working oil rigs in northern British Columbia and had just moved to Spruce Grove.

An avid fan of hockey and football, friends also recalled Chambers' fondness for fireworks.

"Mitch has no enemies," Michelle Chand told the Edmonton Sun. "It's a puzzle for all of us. Nobody understands who could do such a thing."

Jen Lee talked to Mitch just a few days before the shooting.

"It was a big shocker," she said of the news, adding Chambers was back in town for only a few days.

"I don't see why anyone would do this to someone so innocent, especially two weeks before Christmas ... the person who did this is so cruel."

"Mitch was the kindest person ever," friend Melinda Ann O'Donnell said.

"He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was loved by everyone. Not a day will go by that he is not thought of."

A friend who spoke regularly with Chambers, who asked not to be named, said that she had not known him to use drugs or hang with gangs in about the past eight months ... or as long as she knew him.

“He didn't deserve this,” she told the Sun. “He was completely innocent.”

The woman said Mitch had lately started dating someone in Edmonton.

The Edmonton Journal spoke to Robert Joseph, likely the last of Mitch's friends to see him alive. The two drove around talking hockey for a couple of hours in Mitch's rental pickup truck the afternoon before he died.

"He's a really big hockey fan. He was a big Oilers fan," Joseph said.

Chambers dropped Joseph off around 2 p.m. Robert said Chambers was supposed to return to the rigs two days later. Instead, his body was found four hours after the pair last saw each other.

Carolynne Scoffield, who knew Mitch at Jasper Place High School, said the man was trying to "turn his life around."

She related that Mitch had some minor run ins with the law that were drug-related, but that had more to do with the people around him in high school.

"Mitch wasn't from that kind of background. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn't do anything bad," she told the Journal.

"He just wanted to be a good guy."

The Chambers family released a statement to media saying they were

"... devasted by the tragic loss of Mitch. He is dearly loved and sorely missed. We are trusting the police are appropriately handling the investigation and we ask that our privacy be respected as we prepare to lay Mitch to rest."

The statement was issued by Jennifer Warren, Chambers' cousin, who also said the family was "grateful for the kind messages and prayers we have received during this difficult time."

On January 24th, 2009 a notice of thanks appeared in the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun.

With Chambers' death Edmonton's 2008 murder tally equalled the mark set the previous year.

"It's the new norm in Edmonton," criminologist Bill Pitt told Metro Edmonton.

For most of 2008 Calgary led the province in homicides, but the capital region's latest four murders (including Chambers') in eight days has placed the two cities neck and neck.

According to a spokesman, the year-end flurry stretched Edmonton Police Service resources to the limit.

Pitt said recent economic prosperity has caught the eye of criminals from across the country.

"Calgary’s age of innocence is over. Both Edmonton and Calgary are saturated in gangs."

By the end of 2008 35 people were murdered. Edmonton set its homicide record in 2005 when 39 people were slain.

The Edmonton Police Service web site entry for Mitchell Chambers can be seen here.

CTV Edmonton's coverage of Chambers' murder can be seen here.

All the information presented on this page has been compiled primarily from published media reports and should not be interpreted as having legal bearing or other prejudice against the individuals named on this web site.
The Last Link on the Left practices fair presentation and the disclosure of relevant interests.
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deadmonton 2008 - mitchell chambers