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The man behind an emergency alert issued on Thursday morning has been arrested.
According to the emergency alert, which was issued by the Saskatchewan RCMP just after 6:30 a.m., 28-year-old Elijah Albert was last seen heading into the bush in the area around the First Nation northeast of Regina, armed with a rifle.
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According to an update released on Thursday afternoon by the Saskatchewan RCMP, the incident began when officers responded to a report of an armed person at a home on the First Nation at around 2 a.m.
“As officers arrived at the scene, a firearm was discharged, and an officer was struck. The officer was transported to hospital by EMS with injuries described as non-life-threatening in nature,” the Mounties said in a statement.
Inspector Ashley St. Germaine, Senior Investigative Officer for Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes Branch, said the officer was shot almost immediately after arriving on the scene.
She couldn’t share further details or a timeline of the incident as it is still under investigation.
St. Germaine said receiving a call about an injured officer is something no one wants to hear.
“We’re very thankful that his injuries are non-life-threatening, but this is going to have a lasting impact on a lot of members that responded, and a lot of employees of the RCMP and community members in that area,” she said.
Following the shooting, the armed individual fled the scene on foot. At the time, RCMP believed the suspect was still in what it called a “containment zone.”
St. Germaine said this is why the alert wasn’t immediately sent out.
“It does seem like four and a half hours is a significant time,” she said.
“But, up until a few hours after the incident happened, we were confident that he was still in that immediate area.”
When the RCMP received information that the suspect might not be in the containment zone, that’s when the alert went out, just after 6:30 a.m.
Albert was arrested in the containment zone.
“It was good that he was still within the contained area… but because we couldn’t be sure of that until he was actually physically in custody, we made the decision to ensure that the public could take proper precautions,” she explained.
The RCMP said its Critical Incident Response Team tracked Albert to “a rural location” near Lestock, where he was arrested at around 8:50 a.m.
The RCMP said no criminal charges have been laid at this stage, and investigators do not believe there is any elevated risk to public safety now that the suspect is in custody.
“It does take time, and we do have to make sure that we’re taking the statements we need and getting the grounds that we need to make sure we’re laying the right charge,” St. Germaine said.
— With files from 980 CJME’s Lisa Schick
