Stolen Jeep rams 2 cruisers as officer shoots at vehicle, police say

An officer fired a gun during a serious incident that started in Winnipeg's Fort Garry area and endedin the River Heights with police telling people to stay inside their homes.

It began when police spotted a stolen Jeep SUV driving near Pembina Highway and Point Road just after 6 p.m.

The officer waited for a second police vehicletoarrive before attempting to stop the Jeep by boxing it in, but the driver of the stolen SUVrepeatedly rammed both police cruisers until it could escape the containment.

During the chaos, one of the officers fired a gun, police said.

A passenger in the Jeep jumped out and ran away right before the SUV sped off.

The Jeep was found abandoned a short time later in an alley near Brock Corydon School, where it had crashed into a chain-link fence.

From there, the investigation led police through the River Heights area to where they blocked off a section of Academy Road, between Oak and Ash streets, with yellow tape and cruisers.

People living in the area said police told them tostay inside and lock their doors, and they saw officers with drawnguns running on Oak between Academy and Wellington Crescent at one point.

Academy remained closed through the night before it was reopened early Tuesday.

The scene near the school also was cleared by Tuesday morning, but there was still obviousevidence of the crash, with the crushed fence andbroken car parts in the lane.

Police have not said whether anyone was injuredor if anyone is in custody.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call investigators at 204-986-6508 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).