Suspect in hospital after exchanging gunfire with Winnipeg police, taking 3 hostages

A man wanted on outstanding warrants took three hostages in a Winnipeg neighbourhood, resulting in shots being fired and the suspect being injured, according to police.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) said people in the Polo Park area recognized the wanted man and informed police who passed the tip along to the Manitoba Integrated Violent Apprehension Unit. When officers arrived and tried to arrest the man, he ran.

After he fled, officers chased him and he eventually broke into a home at the 400 block of King Edward Street, police said. There, he took three people inside as hostages around 11 a.m. on Friday, WPS Const. Pat Saydak told reporters that afternoon.

At that point, shots were fired, police said.

Two of the hostages were freed by officers, who noticed a fire inside the house while they tried, and succeeded, to free the remaining hostage, Saydak said.

Police say to the best of their knowledge, they believe the three hostages were teenagers.

The suspect, who was not named by police, then left out the back door, but officers were waiting for him, police said.

A second exchange of gunfire occurred outside the home, according to Saydak.

“There were no injuries to any of the hostages or the police. (The) fire was successfully extinguished and the house is secure,” the constable said.

The suspect received emergency first aid and was taken to hospital. The severity of his injuries is unknown.

Residents in the neighbourhood said police officers instructed them to go inside during the incident.

“I was watching to see what was going on and then I noticed that there (was) the SWAT Team. They had ambulances sitting on the side,” said resident Sherry Lukianchuk.

About an hour and a half later, she said she heard “several gunshots.”

Staff at nearby Stevenson-Britannia School were advised by police to initiate hold and secure measures during the incident, the St. James-Assiniboia School Division (SJASD) said in a statement to Global News.

“The school day continued inside the school with doors locked and no visitors allowed in or out of the building,” according to the statement from the SJASD.

“Out of an abundance of caution, neighbouring SJASD schools also initiated voluntary hold and secures. School Administrators lifted these measures after determining the situation did not impact their student populations and staff.”

Saydak said police do not believe the suspect was related to the hostages.

The Independent Investigation Unit, Manitoba’s police watchdog, is now involved.

WPS did not say what charges the man was wanted on, or if a weapon was recovered from the scene.