Calgary

Man shot by police during traffic stop in Canmore, Alta. taken to hospital with serious injuries: RCMP

Alberta RCMP say a man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries after he was shot by police during a traffic stop in the Town of Canmore. 

Police say man, 26, exchanged gunfire with officer before fleeing

RCMP said a man was shot during a traffic stop in the mountain town Friday. (Dave Gilson/CBC)

Alberta RCMP say a man has been airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after he was shot by an officer during a traffic stop in the Town of Canmore on Friday.

In a media release Saturday, RCMP say a Banff RCMP officer conducted the traffic stop in Canmore, about 90 kilometres west of Calgary, around 11:15 p.m. 

"During the traffic stop, the lone occupant of a vehicle and the officer exchanged gunfire. The suspect fled in his vehicle and then on foot into a wooded area," the release reads.

Police say they surrounded the place where the suspect fled. The RCMP's police dog and emergency response units, along with a Calgary Police Service helicopter, were called to assist, according to the release. 

RCMP say they found the man shortly after and an air ambulance was called.

The 26-year-old man, a resident of Canmore, was taken to a Calgary hospital with serious injuries.

Around midnight on Saturday, RCMP issued a release saying they were responding to a police incident on 11th Ave., between 15th St. and Larch Place in the wooded area, and asked residents to stay in their homes and avoid the area.

No officers were injured, police say. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is now investigating and no other details were released.