Bus shelter shooting sends man to hospital

Police are investigating a Winnipeg shooting that sent one man to hospital Friday in critical condition.

The victim was sitting on a bench inside a bus shelter at Portage Avenue and Edmonton Street near the Portage Place Shopping Centre when the shooting occurred, a witness told CBC News.

Another man entered the shelter at about 1 p.m. and shot the man in the side, the witness said.

The witness said they did not hear any words exchanged between the two men.

After shooting the victim, the assailant ran down Portage Avenue, the witness said.

Other witnesses reported the man stumbled to the mall clutching his stomach after the gunshot was heard.

Police on the scene interviewed witnesses and the bus shelter was closed off for their investigation.

Police are searching for a suspect in connection with the shooting, said Winnipeg police spokesman Const. Blair Good.

Good said he couldn't say whether the shooting appeared to be random or gang-related.

"Anytime you have a shooting incident at one o'clock in the afternoon it's a concern," Good said. "Innocent bystanders could get hit at this time. We have a report of one person injured and nobody else was injured … so we're very fortunate that there were no other injuries."

Good said there were also reports the suspect may have boarded a bus, but police have found no evidence of that.