Police shooting sends 1 to hospital, closes down busy Winnipeg intersection

One person was sent to hospital Wednesday night after being shot by Winnipeg police in an incident that closed down a normally busy city intersection.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Jay Murray provided few details about the police shooting near the intersection of Lagimodiere Boulevard and Fermor Avenue but confirmed one suspect was sent to hospital and several others have been arrested.

Murray said shortly after 5:30 p.m. a collision happened at the intersection involving several vehicles and led to the police shooting.

He said a number of vehicles were involved but police are focusing on an SUV that smashed into a police cruiser on a curb.

A person could be seen lying next to a pool of blood outside the SUV, in a video taken by a passerby sent to CBC Wednesday. 

A truck and car were also smashed up in the crash and were still parked at the scene Wednesday night behind police tape along with several cruiser cars. 

"There's a number of other vehicles that have been struck as well and it's believed that those vehicles were struck during this incident. They're not involved otherwise but (there is) certainly a risk to the public whenever something like this happens," Murray said.

He didn't provide the age or gender of the suspect taken to hospital or of the suspects in custody, how many shots were fired or any more details about what led up to the incident. 

He said he wasn't sure if any officers were injured in the incident.

"Police officers are trained quite well to try to take these situations and bring them under control as quick as they can. Sometimes that involves the use of force. Unfortunately that's what happened here." 

Manitoba's police watchdog has been notified about the shooting and will investigate it. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba probes all serious incidents involving police officers. 

Officers were still at the intersection Thursday morning. The Winnipeg Police Service said on Twitter that Lagimodière Boulevard is expected to remain closed from Fermor Avenue south to East Mint Place until at least the afternoon, and asked people to plan alternate routes.