SIU invokes mandate after officer-involved shooting sends one to hospital in Seaforth, Ont.

Clinton and Seaforth were the scenes of a large police presence on Wednesday after police received a report of a stolen car, with one suspect being shot by police and a second currently on the run.

According to a release from the SIU, on Wednesday morning, police received a report of a stolen vehicle. Officers in an unmarked police vehicle located the stolen vehicle and proceeded to follow it until it pulled into the driveway of a residence in Seaforth.

The SIU said at this time, officers approached the vehicle and an “interaction ensued.”

At some point during the interaction, an officer discharged their weapon into the stolen vehicle, and then vehicle fled the scene.

A 35-year-old man from the stolen vehicle was later dropped off at the hospital in Clinton, after which the driver left in the stolen vehicle. He was later transported via Ornge air ambulance to another hospital.

That’s where Crystal Sauve, who was waiting at Clinton’s emergency room, saw him.

A large police presence is seen in Clinton, Ont. on Oct. 18, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

“He walked in nonchalantly, smoking a cigarette. He said, ‘I’ve been shot,’ and one of the nurses said, ‘I can see that.’ Two people came to get him and put him in a wheelchair, and they rushed him in,” said Sauve.

The SIU said that a short time later, the same stolen vehicle struck another vehicle on Huron Street, and the driver abandoned the suspect vehicle.

The resulting manhunt led to a ground and aerial search that locked down Clinton schools and Clinton’s hospital for a few hours.

That suspect has not yet been located, but Jesse Riley saw her run by his house.

“I walked out of my house, and this girl ran by. I waved. I didn’t know she was a part of all this. I came down here to the scene, and learned she was. This is pretty crazy for Huron County,” said Riley.

The suspect description of a woman with red or pink hair wearing a white coat, led to Sauve, who has pink hair, in handcuffs – it was a case of mistaken identity in Clinton’s ER.

“I was pretty scared. It was a scary situation. I’ve never had handcuffs on before. I never want to go through that again,” she said.

A police presence is seen at a Main Street home in Seaforth, Ont. on Oct. 18, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

The entirety of Wednesday’s events was a shock for residents, and no more than Sauve, who won’t forget being momentarily arrested for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

“It was scary. If I didn’t have anyone to vouch for me, I could be sitting at the OPP station, right now,” she said.

Sections of Seaforth and Clinton were closed as the OPP and SIU investigated the police shooting that left a 35-year-old man with serious injuries.

Huron OPP advised Wednesday evening that Highway 8 in Clinton had been reopened to traffic. 

As a result of the interaction, the SIU has invoked its mandate.

The SIU is a civilian law enforcement agency, independent of the police, that conducts criminal investigations into circumstances involving police and civilians that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.

— With files from CTV News Kitchener