Calgary 2023 Homicide Victim List is available here
Calgary police were called to the 1800 block of 35 Street S.E., for a reports of a shooting on December 18th at around 10:00pm.
Upon arrival, officers located a man near a truck, who was declared deceased on scene. A seriously injured woman was located nearby.
Police believe the shooting was a targeted incident and the deceased man and the suspect were known to each other. There is no danger to the public.
The surviving victim continues to recover in hospital.
On Dec. 20, 2023, by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, confirmed the identity of the victim as 43-year-old Donald LYONS, of Calgary.
Update: On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, investigators, with help from the CPS Tactical Unit, carried out a search warrant at a home on Erin Ridge Road S.E. in the 0 to 100 block. A man was arrested at the scene without incident.
Paulos Berhe, a 29-year-old from Calgary, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. He is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, February 28, 2025.
Update May 22, 2026: Paulos Berhe has been found guilty of second-degree murder and attempted murder in a 2023 shooting prosecutors say stemmed from a failed drug deal.
Berhe admitted to shooting Donald Lyons and Lyons’ girlfriend, Amber Beach, but claimed he acted in self-defence after being attacked during a planned drug transaction in southeast Calgary.
The jury rejected his account after nearly two days of deliberations, accepting evidence that the shooting happened during a meeting arranged for a $9,000 drug deal outside a lounge in the city’s southeast.
Sentencing will take place at a later date.