Fort Smith RCMP have formally charged a youth with murder after the shooting of a man in the community at the start of March.
Police did not identify the youth for legal reasons, nor confirm whether the youth is the same 17-year-old arrested on March 6 after a three-day operation in the town. RCMP have not previously raised the possibility of any other suspect in the case.
That 17-year-old is accused of a series of break-and-enters beginning in the early hours of March 4, in which a vehicle and guns were stolen.
Police at the time took care not to expressly link those incidents with the death of a man who had been shot early that same morning. On March 16, RCMP confirmed the 50-year-old’s death was being treated as a homicide.
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In a Thursday news release, police said an investigation lasting well over a month had concluded with a murder charge against a youth. Whether the youth was in custody was not immediately clear.
“The RCMP would like to thank the community of Fort Smith for their assistance and support during this difficult time,” police stated.
