 Convicted killer William Bicknell escaped while out on a day pass, then allegedly went on a rampage throughout rural Alberta. (handout)
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EDMONTON — Alberta's solicitor general says he has concerns about how a 500-pound convicted killer escaped while out on a day pass, then allegedly went on a rampage throughout rural Alberta.
While on the loose, William Bicknell allegedly held two seniors hostage before finally being nabbed following a gunfight with police.
Solicitor General Frank Oberle said he found the situation "concerning."
"When you have a violent person out on the streets, it's a concern," said Oberle.
"We had a near-miss with a couple of Albertans."
"Thank God the community pulled together and it ended as it did."
Oberle said it's because of situations like this that Alberta has been "pushing the federal government hard" on their tough on crime legislation.
Police said the killer overpowered a corrections officer in a government vehicle near Edmonton on March 10 while on a day pass from the Drumheller Correctional Institution.
The 42-year-old armed himself and allegedly made his way to the Chipman area, about 76 km east of Edmonton, where he took a vehicle from a resident.
He ordered the officer and the homeowner not to call the police and fled alone.
Four days after his escape, the man is accused of holding a senior hostage in a Strathcona County farm for 10 hours.
On Saturday, he allegedly held another elderly person hostage in her Sexsmith-area home for more than nine hours, before he was nabbed after a gunfight with cops.
Sexsmith is a small town 20 km north of Grande Prairie.
In October 2003, Bicknell was sentenced to life in prison after beating a woman with a baseball bat and dumping her body in B.C.
frank.landry@sunmedia.ca
