An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer has died after he was shot in Haldimand County responding to a call, police say.
OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique identified the officer as provincial Const. Grzegorz Pierzchala, who died “courageously serving in the line of duty.”
“Our hearts are with his loved ones and all OPP members at this tragic time,” wrote Carrique on Twitter.
According to OPP Sgt. Ed Sanchuk, the officer responded to a call of a vehicle in a ditch around 2:40 p.m. at Indian Line and Concession 14, roughly 40 kilometres away from Hamilton.
Upon arrival, Sanchuk says the officer was shot and was transported to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A male and a female were seen leaving the scene, police say.
Around 5:45 p.m. OPP issued a shelter in place alert for residents in Six Nations of the Grand River, Hamilton and surrounding areas, warning them of two alleged suspects, a man and a woman. A name, photo and suspect description of the man were included with the alert, while the woman was unidentified.
As of around 7:00 p.m., the alert is no longer active.
Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators.