An incident which started shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday morning in the parking lot of Superstore in Moose Jaw, culminated – about six hours later – in an officer involved shooting on the highway between Moose Jaw and Regina.

Moose Jaw Police say they received a report of a man who had a gun uttering threats and located a suspect.  Officers engaged him in conversation but he drove away, out of the city eastbound, eventually coming to a stop on Highway #1 near Belle Plaine.

RCMP Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) and Regina SWAT were asked to assist and the Moose Jaw Police Crisis Negotiators remained in contact with the man, police say, to try and verbally de-escalate the situation.

Around 7 a.m. Sunday morning, police say the man pointed a gun at police officers and did not comply with multiple police officer commands. The police response involved the discharge of a firearm. The man was hit and police officers with advanced medical training provided immediate medical assistance but he died at the scene.

A firearm was located and seized by police, at the scene. During this ongoing event, as an extra precaution, Moose Jaw Police asked RCMP to direct the remaining Moose Jaw bound Safe Ride shuttles coming from Country Thunder to another safe location nearby.

A 27 year old Moose Jaw man is deceased and Moose Jaw Police have asked the Saskatoon Police Service to conduct an investigation into the shooting. As well, the Ministry of Justice has been asked to appoint an independent observer.

Detours were in place most of yesterday after the highway was shut down to allow for the investigation. All lanes re-opened around 5 p.m. on Sunday. Belle Plaine is approximately 27 kilometres east of Moose Jaw.