Saskatoon man shot by police posted live updates online of impasse, neighbour says

A Saskatoon woman says she watched her neighbour's police standoff play out in real time on social media.

The man had barricaded himself Friday in a mobile home trailer in Rayner Place Park in the Sutherland neighbourhood. He posted live updates of his standoff for hours on his Facebook page.

The police tactical unit was there executing a warrant, according to a news release from police on Saturday. A neighbour told CBC she saw the cruisers gathered outside.

She knows the man and went to his Facebook page, to discover he was posting live text and video updates.

"It was very weird, yeah," she said in an interview. CBC is not naming her because she fears for her safety.

The woman said the impasse went on through the late afternoon into the night.

"Between 7 and 8 [p.m. CST], I heard a bang and it kind of scared me. I thought maybe what it felt like was a car hit my house, like it was loud," she said.

"So I looked out the window and everything and still saw the police there."

CBC reviewed the videos posted by the man on his Facebook page, and visited the exterior of the property on Monday. The images from inside the trailer correspond to what can be seen outside, and the woman identified the trailer.

Debris from the impasse, including police tape, was still on the property, and the trailer's windows were boarded over.

Videos posted from inside the house showed boards screwed over doors to keep them closed and mattresses piled against windows.

A video that appeared to be from 11:45 p.m. on Friday showed the interior of the house filled with smoke and a window that appeared to be smashed.

Police provided no detail about the nature of the warrant they were executing, or about the sequence of events that led to the shooting.

"During the incident, an SPS member discharged their firearm. One suspect, a 25-year-old male, suffered a gunshot wound and was transported to the hospital; he is believed to be in stable condition," police said in a news release.

Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team has taken over the investigation. The civilian executive director has accepted carriage of the case.

SIRT said further details will be released as the investigation continues.