Teen arrested for explosives attack
'Personal vendetta' behind weekend violence, say police
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 24, 2009 | 3:17 PM CT
CBC News
Kyle Robert McKee, 24, is wanted for attempted murder. (Calgary Police Service) A teenager wanted in connection with a homemade bomb attack in Calgary was arrested in Manitoba Monday night as he stepped off a bus.
Police had issued a warrant for the arrest of the 17-year-old male, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
Still wanted is Kyle Robert McKee, 24, who is linked to a white supremacist group in Calgary.
"I don't know where he's at right now," said police Staff Sgt. Keith Cain on Tuesday. "We're interested in getting him under arrest for his own safety, as well as the safety of anyone he may choose to harm."
Both face charges of attempted murder, possessing, making or controlling explosives, and possessing a weapon or an imitation for a dangerous purpose.
RCMP arrested the teenager in the Manitoba city of Portage la Prairie at about 6:15 p.m. after receiving a tip about his whereabouts. He will be transferred back to Calgary soon, police said.
The charges stem from an incident in northeast Calgary on Saturday that Cain said isn't a hate crime but a "personal vendetta between two individuals."
What appears to be a pipe bomb lies in a northeast Calgary parking lot where police say two explosive devices went off Saturday. (CBC) A resident in a ground-floor apartment in the 5300 block of Rundlehorn Drive N.E. heard a noise outside and found two homemade bombs near his patio door, police said. The man threw the devices into the parking lot, where they exploded.
A vehicle was damaged, but no one was hurt.
McKee is believed to have helped found the Aryan Guard in Calgary, a white supremacist group that has organized marches in the city. In an interview with the Calgary Herald, McKee identified himself as a member of the Aryan Guard and explained that the group was simply trying to "celebrate white pride."
Anti-racism advocates said they've been warning police that a violent act like the bomb attacks was imminent.
"We've said from the beginning that the group would not last forever, but the question was who's going to get hurt in between now and then," said Jason Devine of Anti-Racist Action. Devine does not believe the threat of violence in Calgary will end with arrests.
"I don't want people to go to sleep thinking, 'Well, it's over now. It's done, they've caught the guys.' I mean they're a violent, racist gang and there's many more members than just these two."
