Man threatened to shoot shopper in front of family at Calgary grocery store: police
Posted Sep 9, 2026 3:23 pm.
A man has been charged after allegedly threatening to shoot a shopper in front of his wife and child inside a southwest Calgary Safeway.
Calgary police say a family was shopping at a Safeway in the southwest community of Woodbine around noon on Sept. 3 when a male stranger approached them.
The man allegedly started making political comments about Canadian and American tariffs. Witnesses say the man became increasingly agitated, shouting anti‑Canadian and pro‑American remarks, and then threatened to get a shotgun and shoot the other man who was with his wife and child.
Store staff stepped in, but the suspect approached the family a second time before being escorted out.
Police later identified the suspect and found him at a nearby home on Woodside Road SW.
Officers say he was armed with a handgun, and they heard a gunshot from inside the residence.
No one was hurt and no one else was inside. The man was arrested around 12:55 p.m.
“This was an extremely dangerous situation that could have turned out much worse than it did,” says CPS Staff Sgt. Joe Hebert. “We were able to quickly locate and safely apprehend the suspect before he further endangered the community.”
Officers searched the home and seized an unloaded .40‑calibre pistol, a loaded 12‑gauge shotgun, a Glock‑style BB gun, and ammunition.
James Dean Garriock, 49, has been charged with uttering threats, possession of an unlicensed weapon, discharging a firearm with intent, and careless storage of a firearm. He is scheduled to appear in court next week.
