In a tragic turn of events stemming from the line of duty deaths of Const. Brett Ryan and Const. Travis Jordan on March 16, 2023, the Edmonton Police Service’s Firearms Investigations Unit (FIU) announced today that charges have been laid in connection to the origin of the firearm involved in the officers’ deaths.
The investigation, launched following the shooting deaths, traced the firearm used by the 16-year-old male shooter to a March 12, 2023, incident at a local restaurant on 133 Street and 114 Avenue. Detectives found a bullet cartridge casing at the restaurant scene, forensically matching it to the firearm recovered from the apartment where the officers were tragically murdered.
After months of intensive investigation, FIU identified 19-year-old Dennis Okeymow as the individual who trafficked the firearm directly to the 16-year-old shooter before the March 12 incident.
On November 23, 2023, the police executed search warrants on Okeymow’s residence, vehicles, and cell phone, resulting in his arrest without incident. During the search, law enforcement confiscated a stolen loaded handgun, ammunition, illegal drugs, $10,000 in cash, and other items indicative of drug trafficking.
Okeymow now faces a litany of charges, including manslaughter (x3) and criminal negligence causing death (x3) in relation to the deaths of Const. Ryan, Const. Jordan, and the 16-year-old male shooter. Additionally, criminal negligence causing bodily harm (x2) charges are filed concerning the man injured in the March 12 restaurant shooting and the youth’s mother, injured during the March 16 incident. Firearms trafficking, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a restricted firearm with ammunition, and other drug trafficking-related charges are also part of the legal proceedings.
Staff Sergeant Eric Stewart, with the EPS Guns and Gangs Section, expressed the complexity and tragedy of the case, stating, “In my 20 years in this career, this is the most complex and tragic file I have worked on. It’s heartbreaking that the trafficking of a firearm has led to multiple deaths and life-altering injuries.”
“The trauma suffered by the impacted families as a result of this one simple transaction is unthinkable,” Stewart added.
Acknowledging the collaborative effort involved in the investigation, FIU extended gratitude to the RCMP, the Calgary Police Service (CPS), the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Team (ALERT), and the dedicated members of the EPS who contributed to the case.
The incident unfolded on March 12, 2023, when a lone male suspect entered a pizza restaurant, shooting a male employee before fleeing. The subsequent incident on March 16 involved officers responding to a family dispute call, resulting in the tragic deaths of Const. Jordan and Const. Ryan, along with the 16-year-old shooter taking his own life.
The 55-year-old man injured in the March 12 restaurant shooting survived but suffered life-altering injuries. The youth’s mother continues to recover from her injuries sustained during the March 16 incident. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed the causes of death for the officers as gunshot wounds, ruled as homicides. The 16-year-old male shooter’s cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, confirmed by the Edmonton Medical Examiner on March 22, 2023.