A 37-year-old man is dead after being shot during a police standoff in northern Alberta.

The Lakeshore Regional Police Service was called to the Driftpile First Nation at about 10 p.m. MT Friday after reports of a disturbance at a home.

As officers approached the house, shots were fired, prompting the force to request backup from the RCMP emergency response team.

RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb said a man holding a gun exited the home at about 9:30 a.m. MT Saturday and was shot by an RCMP officer.

"They tried to negotiate with this individual, eventually some more shots were fired, but eventually this individual came out of the residence with a firearm," Webb said.

"We could not let him go any further. Unfortunately he had to be shot with a firearm by one of our RCMP members."

He said the "danger of the situation was high and we just had to take care of that situation."

No one else was injured.

Webb said the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, an independent group that investigates serious incidents involving police, is handling the investigation.

"They'll look into all the circumstances, try to find out exactly what happened and if there's any way we can change anything so that we don't ever have to do this again."

Webb could not say where on his body the man was shot or whether anyone else was inside the home during the standoff.

The name of the victim has not been released.

Driftpile First Nation Chief Rose Laboucan declined to comment, saying only that she was supporting the family who are "not holding up very well."

The Driftpile First Nation is about 250 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

With files from The Canadian Press