A 27-year-old man was shot dead by police after pointing a gun at Highway 1 officers, according to an RCMP press release sent out Sunday afternoon.
The RCMP said police were called at 1:10 am CST due to a report that the man was sitting in his car, uttering threats. The man drove from the Superstore car park to Moose Jaw and stopped near Belle Plaine.
SWAT and the RCMP’s critical incident response team were called to the scene in Moose Jaw and near Belle Plaine, and the RCMP says crisis negotiators tried to verbally escalate the situation.
Around 6 a.m., the RCMP issued a statement saying officers were on site to investigate the area and that highway traffic was being diverted to network roads.
Later in the afternoon, the RCMP shared more details of the apparent road showdown.
At around 7am CST, the RCMP said the man aimed his gun at the officers, failed to comply with the demands and the police shot and injured him.
Police officers began giving first aid to the man, but he died at the scene.
The RCMP said the man’s family has been notified and no further details can be provided due to an external investigation to be carried out when an incident involving police causes serious injuries. or death.
Together with the Saskatoon Police Service that conducted this investigation, the Moose Jaw Police Service and the Saskatchewan RCMP requested the Department of Justice to appoint an independent observer in accordance with section 91.1 of the the Saskatchewan Police Act, according to the statement.
Highway 1 reopened completely on Sunday afternoon.