Calgary police are looking to speak with witnesses after a serious assault on the Calgary Stampede Midway involving three victims.

Officers were called around 11:05 p.m. Tuesday, July 8, after reports of an assault near the Euroslide ride on the Calgary Stampede Midway. When officers arrived, they found one man who had been injured.

That victim was transported to the hospital in life-threatening but stable condition.

Two additional reports of people in medical distress were received shortly after, including a youth found on 17 Avenue SE and Macleod Trail, along with a man near Erlton Street and 27 Avenue SW—both related to the Midway assault.

Acting Inspector Scott Campbell, Stampede Incident Commander, said that all of the individuals involved in the fight were known to each other.

“The victims are all related or known to each other, and they also knew the assailants. The motive behind the the attack remains under investigation, we are reviewing CCTV and following various investigative leads in an attempt to identify the offenders.”

“We are confident that we’ll be able to identify those involved. But at this time, we have nobody in custody or charged with this offence.”

He said that police believe several witnesses were there during the assault and may have recorded the incident on cellphone. Anyone who witnessed the incident or has video footage is asked to contact the police at 403-266-1234.

“From reviewing CCTV so far, we could say there’s anywhere between eight and 10 people involved in this altercation, with three people ended up at hospital. But how many people were on both sides of this altercation are ultimately involved, we can’t tell yet.”

Insp. Campbell said that the individuals involved in the fight that were injured were stabbed, but it was unclear what type of weapon was used or whether it was brought into Stampede Park or picked up from the grounds itself.

Searches occurred on patrons entering Stampede

Kerrie Blizard, Director of Public Safety and Environment for the Calgary Stampede, said that during the evening the Stampede was at it’s highest level of security, and that bag searches and metal detectors were in place.

“Despite the volume of people that were arriving at our parks. We we did not decrease our security searches last night because it was important to us to keep our patrons safe.”

That level of security, she said, varies at the Stampede in the same way it does at an airport, and at peak times during the evenings the Stampede ramps up security efforts.

The violence occurred following a record-breaking day at the Calgary Stampede, which saw thousands attend a Don Toliver concert at the Coca-Cola Stage.

That the stabbings occurred shortly after the concert ended, and well away from the Coca-Cola Stage, has indicated to police that the fight may have not been connected to the concert.

“There’s no indication based on the investigation so far, that this has anything to do with the concert we we as part of the investigation, don’t even know if the victims or the offenders had even attended the concert,” said Insp. Campbell.

“Certainly anytime there’s a incident of violence in a big public venue like this. It’s concerning, but certainly, incidents like this aren’t unprecedented at large public events like the Calgary Stampede, things can occur on a regular basis when there’s that many people.”

He said that a single incident occurring when over 193,000 people attended Stampede on Tuesday, and with over 800,000 to date, wasn’t unprecedented.

“An isolated incident between two groups of people known to each other is is a concern, but not a huge concern that can’t be overcome.”

Insp. Campbell said that one arrest was made at the concert for an individual climbing a structure during the concert.

Video posted to TikTok showed members of the crowd throwing water bottles, drinks, and other objects into the packed crowd after Don Toliver’s set began 10 minutes late.

The Houston-based rapper performed during the Astroworld Festival in 2021, where individuals were injured from a crowd crush as he was performing on a secondary stage and unable to escape. That same festival led to the death of 10 individuals aged nine through 27 after being trampled and crushed by crowds.

Blizard said that the Stampede was asking all members of the public to put their best foot forward when on park, and to work with the Stampede to create a fun and safe environment for all guests.

“We rely on Calgarians to come and, you know, put on their cowboy hats and really, truly represent what that means, which is great western hospitality and looking out for one another and respecting our community.”

“At the end of the day there’s that doesn’t always occur, but I would say that 99 per cent of our guests, especially out of the 193,000 that we had here yesterday, demonstrated just that. We saw great community actually at the Coke Stage last night where patrons were really looking out for one another, and that was really great to see.”