A witness to what he describes as a “shootout” in Saskatoon says he saw police with guns drawn and heard numerous shots as officers chased a suspect through the city’s downtown Wednesday.
Barry Steiner told CTV News he pulled into the parking lot of Hudsons Canada’s Pub before witnessing the apparent gunfire.
“We actually saw the cops draw their guns and there was a shootout,” Steiner said. “There was about four or five shots fired, and then we saw a guy get out of a car and he was running down Fourth Avenue.”
Police chased the suspect and more shots were fired, according to Steiner.
“It was almost like watching a taping of a TV show or something. It seemed almost surreal, but obviously they were real police cars and real police,” he said. “We were half a block away from the shootout.”
Video shared on Facebook of the incident shows a handful of police officers on Fourth Avenue pointing what appear to be guns at a man. Shots can be heard in the video and the man is seen running.
Police said officers were called to the 200 block of Fourth Avenue South shortly after 3 p.m. following a report of a theft from a vehicle in progress.
Few details have so far been released, but police said shots were fired and one person was taken to hospital. A spokesperson did not confirm Wednesday if the shots were fired by police or if the person taken to hospital was a suspect, a police officer or an innocent bystander.
Several blocks in the downtown area were still taped off by police as of early Wednesday evening.
The public is not at risk, according to police.
Police have now lifted all traffic restrictions in the area.
--- based on reporting from CTV's Matt Young
