3rd suspect arrested in relation to Saskatoon homicide

Saskatoon Police say a third suspect has been arrested in relation to a homicide in Saskatoon Wednesday morning, and 15 other people were also taken into custody.

Police were searching for Shane Thomas, 24, Wednesday afternoon and say they believe he knew the 35-year-old man killed at a duplex at 214 Ave S South.

Thomas was arrested without incident in Saskatoon at about 3:30 p.m. CST.

Police had been searching for another man and a woman earlier in the day.

"Two suspects — one male, one female — fled the scene and are reportedly armed. No further descriptions available. Suspects considered armed and dangerous," RCMP said in an emergency alert issued Wednesday morning.

The alert said the pair were believed to be on foot, and that their last known location was west of the Beardy's and Okemasis Cree Nation, which is 92 kilometres north of Saskatoon.

RCMP put out a news release later Wednesday morning saying that a man and a woman had been arrested, and cancelled the earlier alert.

Saskatoon police then put out their own release with more details. It said officers responded to the 200 block of Avenue S South at around 7 a.m. CST after a report that a man had been shot.

The man was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police say.

The investigation led officers to a nearby home on the 200 block of Avenue W South. They spotted two people believed to be involved in the shooting leaving the home and getting into a truck, police say.

Officers tried to pull the truck over, but it sped away erratically, eventually leaving the city headed north on Highway 11. Two people were seen exiting the truck and fleeing on foot near Beardy's and Okemasis Cree Nation, police say. They were later arrested.

Saskatoon police say the tactical support unit also took 15 other people who had been in the home on Avenue W South into custody.

It is unclear if the 15 people remain in custody, but police confirmed Thomas was not one of them.

The release shed some light on why classes were cancelled at Pleasant Hill Community School Wednesday morning.

There was a heavy police presence in the area. Yellow tape closed off a yard at 214 Avenue S South, directly across the street from the school. Police blocked off the streets around the school and restricted access to the alleys.

Members of the the gangs and guns unit were on scene, along with several other uniformed officers.

It's the city's sixth homicide of the year — and the second in five days.