'A minute later there were shots fired': Witness recounts moments before RCMP officer shot

A Manitoba man says he helped guide police to the rural property where he believes the suspects in the shooting of an RCMPofficer were engaged in a break-injust minutes before theofficer was shot Wednesday night.

RCMPsay a 42-year-old officer was shot while responding to a report of a break-in at a rural property east ofOnanole, Man., Wednesday evening.

The officer is in hospital and four suspects have now been taken into custody.

Christopher Bevan, who lives in theOnanolearea about 220 kilometres northwest of Winnipegsaid his cousin called him Wednesday around 9 p.m. about a possible break-in at the cabin Bevan's cousin owns, just outside Onanole.

No one was at the cabin at the time but it was equipped with security cameras, which his cousin was able to monitor remotely.

"He had pictures of them breaking into his stuff, breaking into his cabin and his RVs and stealing his stuff," Bevan told CBCNews in a phone interviewThursday.

He said his cousin called 911 and then called him to see if he knew how to reachRCMP faster, since Bevan was closer to the cabin.

"I told him, 'I'll go check it out, because these guys are stealing your stuff,' and there's been a lot of theft around here and a lot of people are tired of it," said Bevan, adding that his cousin advised him not to.

"I figured I'd go down there and just check it out, at least get a visual or confront them or whatever."

About nine units showed up sporadicallythey just kept showing up. Then the ambulance showed up and we knew something was wrong.-ChristopherBevan

Bevan, who lives about 15 minutes away from the cabin, said he and his father went to the area and were passed by RCMP on the way there.

"They passed the lane [leading to the cabin] initially and then we showed them where to go," after flagging them down, he said. "They went in and we stayed at the end of the lane.

"Like a minute later there were shots fired."

Bevan said he heard threeshots and possibly a fourth.

"So we backed up away from the lane because we didn't want to get jacked," he said.

Shots fired at officers

At a Thursday morningnews conference in Winnipeg,RCMPAssistant Commissioner ScottKolody said thetwo responding officers were fired upon after they got out of their vehicleat 9:30 p.m.

One officer, the 42-year-old, was wounded and later taken to hospital in Winnipeg. Kolody saidthe officer was conscious earlier in the day but his injuries are serious.

The suspects fled and officers did not return fire, Supt. Scott McMurchy said at Thursday's news conference.

The suspects are believed to have split up, and police later arrested three of them in two separate incidents.

A fourth suspect was arrested Thursday afternoon after police surrounded a house inNeepawa, Man., about 55 kilometres southeast of Onanole.

Went to warn neighbours

Bevansays hedidn't know anRCMPofficer had been shot until he saw the news on social media later that evening.

"Once [RCMP] went in we just stayed back, and once shots were fired we definitely stayed back."

He said otherRCMPvehicles showed up within minutes after the shots were fired.

"About nine units showed up sporadically they just kept showing up. Then the ambulance showed up and we knew something was wrong," he said.

It's not going to make me think twice about protecting my property, but it will definitely make me think twice about rolling up on a couple of thieves.- Christopher Bevan

Bevan and his father then went to a neighbouring yard to warn others.

"We went to go tell one of the neighbours there was people at large and to lock his doors," said Bevan.

That neighbour wasn't home but Bevan said they found him in his field nearby, and then later learned his truck had been stolen.

He believes the truck was stolen from the farm "probably moments before we got there," Bevan said.

He hasn't really thought about what might have happened if he had arrived at his cousin's property before police did, he said.

"It's not going to make me think twice about protecting my property, but it will definitely make me think twice about rolling up on a couple of thieves," said Bevan.

"It can get pretty hairy out because a lot of these people, they've lived out here for a long time and they don't like their stuff stolen.

"People are going to be scared."