Interlake police chase ends with Manitoba RCMP shooting suspect mid-carjacking

Manitoba's police watchdog is investigatingafter an RCMP officer shot a suspect after a car chase in the Interlake region Thursday noon.

RCMPsaid on Thursday afternoon members of the Gypsumville detachment spotteda vehicle that'd been stolen on Thompson overnight and tried to stop it on Highway 6, south of Pinaymootang First Nation.

Police said the driver a 39-year-old man from Thompson, Man.refused to pull over. After a short pursuit, the suspect stopped and exited the vehicle and tried to carjack another one with a gun, the release said.

An officer then discharged his firearm and struck the man, the RCMP said. Police said the man was still able to stop the car, hitting a ditch a short distance from where he was taken into custody.

An air ambulance took the suspect to hospital with serious injuries. The officers weren't physically injured.

The RCMP said theIndependent Investigations Unit has taken on the investigation.

The vehicle had been stolen in Thompson overnight, police said.

Pinaymootang First Nation isabout 240 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.