A Winnipeg man has been charged with attempted murder after three police officers were shot during a drug raid at a south-end home, police Chief Jack Ewatski said Friday.

One of the three officers shot is in 'guarded condition' in hospital following surgery, police Chief Jack Ewatski said.
(John Woods/ Canadian Press)

Charged is Daniell Ian Anderson, 21.

The wounded officers are in hospital. One is in "guarded condition" while the other two are stable, Ewatski said at a news conference Friday morning.

Anderson, who Ewatski said was known to police, was also injured during the incident and remains in hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Ewatski would not say whether Anderson had been shot.

One of the wounded was a 12-year veteran who was shot in the abdomen. "He remains in guarded condition" following surgery, Ewatski said.

Also needing surgery was a 17-year member of the force who was shot in the hand and forearm. As well, a four-year officer suffered a leg wound. Both officers were in stable condition in hospital on Friday.

"We're all shocked and saddened by the events of last night," Ewatski told reporters. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured officers, their families, their friends, and I dare say all the members of the Winnipeg Police Service."

Officers arrived with warrant

Shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday, about 12 uniformed and plainclothes officers went to the Jubilee Avenue residence with a search warrant.

Ewatski said the officers — who belong to several units, including the street crimes and canine units — followed police protocol and were "properly equipped," but he didn't explain what that meant.

Winnipeg police Chief Jack Ewatski said Friday that his service is 'shocked and saddened' by the shootings.
(CBC)

"During the execution of the warrant, three Winnipeg Police Service members were fired upon by an armed individual within that residence," Ewatski said. He would not say whether people other than the accused were inside the home at the time.

He also would not say what weapons were used, and how the accused was able to open fire on the three officers.

"Those facts have yet to be determined. The investigation is in the early stages," Ewatski said.

Neighbours shocked

Residents in the south-central neighbourhood were taken aback by the news their community had become a major crime scene Friday morning.

"I've lived here five years, I haven't had any problems at all with crime. My neighbours haven't — that I've heard of," said Jason Woolston, who lives down the street from the house where the incident happened.

"So it seems extremely unusual. You think this is something that happens downtown or [in the] North End."

Ryan Getz, another neighbour, said: "It's kind of crazy, yeah. I don't think it should happen in any part of the town."

Don Dwyer was out walking his dog when he noticed a commotion in the residential area.

"It was something major — they [police] just kind of came and yelled, 'Get down,' " he said. "They had one person on the boulevard and they were kind of holding him down, and it was ambulances and cop cars showing up steady.

"That's when the other cop cars started showing up, and they started telling everybody to get out of the way and took us straight out of here."

In the middle of a nearby street, several garbage cans and recycling boxes had been turned over in what appeared to be an attempt to preserve evidence.

Jubilee Avenue was closed to traffic between Osborne Street and Pembina Highway while police continued their investigation on Friday.

Potential for shooting 'always in your mind'

Former Winnipeg police officer Jeff Bellingham said Friday that the possibility of guns always exists when carrying out drug warrants.

"[It's] always in your mind, especially these days there's obviously more gun violence," said Bellingham, who in his 30 years on the force has executed several hundred drug warrants in his capacity as drug unit supervisor.

"That's always in the back of your mind with anything you do on police work."

Lorne Shenkel, president of the Winnipeg Police Association, said incidents such as Thursday's shooting shows why the police force needs a full-time tactical unit to carry out high-risk arrest warrants.

"Every high-risk and search warrant entry in Calgary and Edmonton is done by a tactical unit and then turned over to the investigators. And that's what we've been advocating here for a long time," Shenkel said.

Currently, the service has a part-time tactical team of 19 officers.