The family of a Winnipeg girl shot with a stolen RCMP gun is suing police.
Calli Vanderaa was in a car outside a Windsor Park convenience store in the early morning hours on Oct. 24, 2015 when someone fired a gun and hit her.
The family’s lawyer, Robert Tapper tells CTV, the decision to launch a lawsuit wasn't a difficult decision for the family.
“She has been very badly injured and continues to suffer,” Tapper told CTV Saturday. “A bullet went through her, she is scarred, beat up … and had a three-month infection,” he said. “This is not a bump on the nose.”
Vanderaa was 16 years old at the time of the shooting.
A statement of claim states Vanderaa was trying to hide from an assailant within a vehicle. It states she “suffered life-threatening and major injuries as a result of the bullet striking her, injuring her leg, lung, spleen and colon.”
In the statement, it says Vanderaa continues to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Tapper didn't disclose a monetary amount, but he said in his legal opinion, there is warrant to seek “significant damages.”
The shooting happened around 12:30 a.m. outside a Mac’s Convenience Store on Autumnwood Drive.
A police investigation revealed the firearm was stolen from an off-duty RCMP officer’s vehicle.
Two men were arrested and charged.
