People in the rural community of Spiritwood, Sask., are shocked after two RCMP officers were shot nearby on Friday night.

"I was really scared. I couldn't even fall asleep" after the gunfire, said Mag Szabo, who runs a restaurant in the community of about 1,000.

Curtis Alfred Dagenais in a photo released by the RCMP.

Police have begun an intense search for a suspect after the two officers, a male and a female, were shot after a car chase ended in the town of Mildred, 140 kilometres west of Prince Albert, said Cpl. Keith Bott of the Spiritwood RCMP. Mildred is about 12 kilometres from Spiritwood.

The RCMP are using an aircraft to search for the suspect, who fled on foot after an exchange of gunfire. The area south of the community has been cordoned off, 40 RCMP officers are hunting the suspect and police are checking vehicles in the area, Bott said Saturday.

The wounded officers both had surgery in Saskatoon. Bott said it could be some time before their condition becomes clear.

Investigating assault  

Three officers in two vehicles were investigating an assault complaint about 9 p.m. local time on Friday.

Neighbours told CBC News the incident started at the home of the mother of Curtis Alfred Dagenais, the man police are hunting.

"He started arguing with his sister, right, and another man at the house. They started an altercation there on Main Street," a woman who saw the dispute said.

When police arrived, a suspect drove off, followed by two RCMP vehicles, said Bott.

Shots were exchanged in Mildred, where the suspect fled on foot.

Both officers in the first car were hit. The officer in the second car returned the fire, but it's not known if the suspect was hit, Bott said. 

The two Mounties were taken to a Saskatoon hospital where they were listed in serious condition.

Police asked for the public's help in finding 41-year-old Dagenais.

With files from the Canadian Press