Three police officers shot and wounded in standoff on College Avenue – Winnipeg Free Press

A day after three city police officers were shot and wounded in a gunfight at an apartment near St. John's, several police units stood guard at the scene.

Wounded members of the Winnipeg Police Service suffered non-life-threatening injuries while responding to a 285 College Ave.

“I'm sure there are a lot of members, especially the members who were injured and the officers who were close to this incident, who are very grateful to be going home at the end of the night,” said WPS Const. Jason Mihalyshen said by phone Sunday.

Officers said there were several people in the building armed with weapons in a suite. Heavily armed tactical officers managed to get several men and a woman out of the room, but others who were armed refused to leave.

For several hours, crisis negotiators and tactical officers, along with other police, remained at the block of flats as the standoff continued.

During the incident, the suspect fired a handgun at police and shot three officers, police said.

“It's definitely a scary scenario, but we knew the potential was there. That's why we sent resources to the scene. We knew the potential for volatility and violence, and there's no doubt we were exposed to that,” Mihalyshen said.

The WPS arrested two men in their 40s, but did not release their names or what charges they would face.

Mikhalyshen said that the police intend to provide additional information at the end of the week.

Major crimes and homicide detectives are assisting with the investigation, which is standard practice when officers discharge a firearm, he said.

Several police units remained at the scene Sunday morning.

A police cruiser was parked near the rear driveway of the property, where several first-floor windows appeared to be shattered by non-lethal projectiles fired during the confrontation. A second cruiser was parked near the front entrance of the apartment.

At least two officers guarding the corridor on the west side of the four-story building were deployed inside.