A busy stretch of King Edward St. in Winnipeg is closed following a major incident on Friday afternoon.
Winnipeg police say the closure is in effect between St. Matthews Avenue and Silver Avenue. Officers remain on scene, and the area is expected to stay closed for several hours.
“Members of the Manitoba Integrated Violence Offender Apprehension Unit had received information that a male with a warrant was in the area of the King Edward neighbourhood,” says Constable Pat Saydak in a press conference.
Officers attempted to arrest the suspect before a brief foot pursuit. “The suspect broke into an unrelated residence in the 400 block of King Edward Street, and shots were exchanged.”
When the break-in occurred, there were three individuals inside the residence. “At this point, we considered those residents to be in a hostage situation, so there are three hostages.”
Officers were able to enter and rescue two of the hostages but while attempting to rescue the third, they noticed the house was on fire. “The third hostage was successfully rescued.”
While the hostages were being rescued, Saydak says the suspect left through the back door. “He confronted officers and in exchange, shots were fired.”
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Fire crews put out the fire. The investigation is being taken over by the Independent Investigation Unit (IIU).
The suspect was taken into custody and received emergency first aid.
No hostages or police officers were injured in the incident.
“The fire was successfully put out by the fire department, and this investigation is being taken over by the independent investigation units.”
“This was a very severe incident and that our officers were very courageous and they were able to assess the situation, de-escalate it, and ultimately save three lives.”
King Edward Street between St. Matthews Avenue and Silver Avenue remains closed.
Motorists are being asked to avoid the area and plan for detours as crews maintain the closure.