Suspect Shot As Portage la Prairie Manhunt Ends (VIDEO)

A male suspect who was the subject of a manhunt that had the people of Portage la Prairie on high alert much of Tuesday is in custody, the RCMP says.

Police say the suspect was shot by officers during the course of his arrest east of Portage near Highway 1 shortly after 6 p.m. Mounties say he was transported to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and is currently in stable condition. The risk to public safety is now considered low.

The RCMP says the delay between the suspect's arrest and notifying the public was due to the need to confirm it was indeed the male suspect who was the subject of the manhunt, and not another perpetrator who was potentially trying to flee police for different reasons.

Police say an outside source called the Portage la Prairie RCMP detachment with information that a suspicious man was seen walking on the east side of Portage towards Highway 1. Officers attended and confronted the subject prior to his arrest. Police did not say if the man was armed at the time he was shot.

“As this is an officer involved shooting, the investigation is now being turned over to Manitoba's Independent Investigation Unit,” says Const. Sean O'Keefe. “Again, we would like to thank all members of the Portage la Prairie community. But we would especially like to recognize the efforts of the Portage la Prairie School Division, for keeping our children safe.”

Mounties say they believe the suspect was on foot during the entire time he was at large and are still looking into how he managed to get through established police perimeters.

“We will be looking into how that was possible,” O'Keefe notes.

The arrest ends an extended period of anxiety around the community of Portage la Prairie as schools and child care centres were locked down when RCMP reported a male suspect at large with a long gun following an incident near Panko's Food Centre shortly after 3 p.m., Tuesday afternoon. Police said at the time a vehicle stolen from Headingley was found to have firearms in it during a stop in Portage.

Two female suspects were arrested. The male suspect fled on foot, prompting a heavy police presence throughout Portage la Prairie, in particular, the north end, where officers were stationed along the north-side of Saskatchewan Avenue much of Tuesday afternoon from 13^th Street NW to 21^st Street NW.

A heavy police presence was observed at McKay Ave., and 14^th Street NW later Tuesday evening at the site where a vehicle with heavy damage to the passenger side was on a home's lawn. RCMP did not have information available about whether there was a pursuit from the original stop to where the damaged vehicle ended up at McKay Ave., and 14^th Street NW.

Police say no officers or members of the public were injured during the manhunt. The two female suspects arrested earlier Tuesday afternoon were seen by EMS but were not taken to hospital.

“We want to reiterate that keeping the public safe is our primary concern and that's why we held a perimeter around the initial area as long as we did,” O'Keefe says. “We are making efforts to ensure that we're going to try and locate any evidence that might have been lost by the suspect while fleeing the scene.”

Police say additional information concerning the theft of the vehicle that sparked the manhunt and subsequent lockdown will likely be released tomorrow.

“We're still conducting the investigation and determining what charges will be applicable,” O'Keefe adds. “Once we're able to do that we will be able to release that information.”