Onanole residents say they were scared and shocked as local RCMP locked down roads and asked people to stay vigilant as they hunted for suspects who shot an officer Wednesday night.
“Facebook and social media was quite informative in informing people what to do,” said Lloyd Ewashko, reeve for the RM of Harrison Park where Onanole is located.
A Manitoba RCMP officer was shot Wednesday as he was responding to a break-and-enter call in the community. RCMP Assistant Commissioner Scott Kolody said the officer and his partner were getting out of their vehicle when they were shot at.
The officer was transported to hospital in Winnipeg in stable condition.
Ewashko said he was at a meeting in another town when he found out about the situation. Safety became the priority for the community, he said, and he and administrators started a command post at the municipality’s office to help get information out.
“[People were] very frightened for sure, frightened for themselves and their families, and the community,” he said. “It was a scary thing for them.”
Residents can expect a heavy police presence for at least the rest of the day, said Ewashko.
Manitoba daredevil and stuntman Dean Gunnarson lives in Onanole and said he was leaving town to catch a flight at the same time the manhunt was happening.
“When I got to the junction of Hwy. 354 and 10, I noticed that there was a couple police cars and an ambulance at the corner, and I just assumed it was a car accident,” he said.
“So I proceeded through slowly, and the police officer, you know, kind of shined his lights in my face … I got a couple miles down by Ditch Lake Road and there was an RCMP roadblock.”
Gunnarson said he spoke to RCMP at the roadblock, presuming it was about break-and-enters in the area.
“And he said, no, somebody’s been shot, it’s quite a serious thing.”
Resident Troy Fleming learned of the shooting when he checked social media in the morning and immediately thought about making sure his doors were locked.
“I did hear a police siren about two or three in the morning buzz by and didn’t think much of it. I just tried to get back to sleep,” he said.
Despite the commotion, Fleming said he still feels safe in the community.
“We have a good local watch around here. And residents are pretty vigilant around here so that helps. We have a good tight knit community around here.”
WATCH: Troy Fleming said he was concerned for his young family after learning of the shooting
Neil Fleming echoed those comments, saying he’s lived in the area all his life and doesn’t remember anything like this happening before.
“I still feel fairly safe here. It’s always been a quiet community,” he said.
“In the last number of years we’ve noticed a number of things happening. Growing up I remember not locking the doors and now it’s a case of locking all your doors and watching what’s going on.”
WATCH: Rural Manitoba residents say they’ve seen a rise in crime recently
Murray Evans, the owner of Michael’s Emporium, said he took a few extra steps while coming into work Thursday.
“On my way to the shop I double-checked the house was locked and the studio was locked because in the back of your mind you hear one person is at large and you think they could be rolling through the bush.”
-With files from Kahla Shea and Amber McGuckin
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