Case file
Claresholm highway shooting

In the early hours of December 15, 2011, a murder–suicide occurred on Alberta Highway 2 just north of Claresholm, Alberta. Derek Jensen, 21, killed three people — his ex-girlfriend Tabitha Stepple, 21, and two men, Mitch Maclean, 20, and Tanner Craswell, 22 — before turning a handgun on himself. Maclean and Craswell were baseball players for the Lethbridge Bulls who had relocated to Alberta from Prince Edward Island.
Jensen had met Stepple at a Lethbridge nightclub, and the couple had lived together before splitting around Halloween 2011, though they continued to share a residence. Neither had any history known to police, and there had been no reported domestic violence between them.
On the night of December 14, 2011, Jensen encountered Stepple at a Lethbridge pub, where she was with Craswell, Maclean, and Shayna Conway, who was Craswell's girlfriend and a coworker of Stepple's. The group was celebrating Craswell's 22nd birthday. Jensen confronted Stepple, pushing her out of a chair, before leaving with friends. Maclean and Craswell had a 5 a.m. flight out of Calgary to return home to Prince Edward Island for Christmas, and Stepple and Conway agreed to drive them to the airport in Stepple's Ford Escape, departing Lethbridge around midnight along Highway 2.
Jensen independently drove north on Highway 2 searching for Stepple, having reportedly called her and said, "This night's not going to end well for you, I hope you know that." He located the group at a 7-Eleven in Claresholm around 3 a.m.; surveillance footage showed no confrontation there. Shortly after the group left the store, around 3:30 a.m., Jensen rammed their SUV with his car north of Claresholm. When Conway got out to confront the driver, Jensen shot her three times, then fired into the SUV, killing Stepple and Craswell. Maclean was shot but escaped the vehicle before he was found in a roadside ditch.
Maclean died en route to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary after being airlifted from Claresholm. Conway survived after crawling to a phone to call 911, underwent surgery, and made a full recovery. Officers recovered two additional firearms — a Winchester rifle and a loaded 12-gauge shotgun — from Jensen's vehicle, all legally registered, along with another firearm and ammunition from his Lethbridge home.
In 2013, CTV broadcast a documentary about the case titled Road to Murder, produced and directed by Larry Day and hosted by Lloyd Robertson.
Key facts
- Victims
- Mitch Maclean, Tabitha Stepple, Tanner Craswell, Shayna Conway
- Date
- 2011
- Location
- Alberta Highway 2, north of Claresholm, Alberta, Canada
- Case status
- solved
Case timeline
2011-10
Derek Jensen and Tabitha Stepple end their relationship around Halloween but continue living together.
2011-12-14
Jensen encounters Stepple at a Lethbridge pub with Tanner Craswell, Mitch Maclean, and Shayna Conway; an altercation occurs.
2011-12-15
Around 3 a.m., the group stops at a 7-Eleven in Claresholm, unaware Jensen has located them.
2011-12-15
Around 3:30 a.m., Jensen rams the group's SUV on Highway 2 north of Claresholm and shoots all four occupants, killing Stepple and Craswell, before killing himself; Maclean later dies en route to hospital and Conway survives.
2013
CTV airs documentary 'Road to Murder' about the killings.
Best coverage
No approved coverage links are attached yet.
People
Derek Jensen
CONVICTEDIdentified as the perpetrator who shot four people, killing three, before killing himself; case closed as murder-suicide with no criminal prosecution due to his death.
Mitch Maclean
VICTIMLethbridge Bulls baseball player shot and later died during transfer to Foothills Medical Centre.
Tabitha Stepple
VICTIMKilled by Derek Jensen on Highway 2 near Claresholm on December 15, 2011.
Tanner Craswell
VICTIMLethbridge Bulls baseball player killed in the shooting.
Shayna Conway
VICTIMShot three times by Derek Jensen but survived and made a full recovery.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- On December 15, 2011, Derek Jensen rammed and opened fire on a vehicle on Alberta Highway 2 near Claresholm, killing his ex-girlfriend Tabitha Stepple and two members of the Lethbridge Bulls baseball team before killing himself.
- Where did the shooting happen?
- Alberta Highway 2, north of Claresholm, Alberta, Canada.
- Who was convicted?
- Derek Jensen (Identified as the perpetrator who shot four people, killing three, before killing himself; case closed as murder-suicide with no criminal prosecution due to his death.).
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: solved.
Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICClaresholm highway shootingWikipedia · 2026-07-10
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — CBC NewsCBC News · 2026-07-10
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — National PostNational Post · 2026-07-10





