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, theassailant ran down Portage Avenue, the witness said.

Otherwitnesses reportedthe man stumbledto the mall clutching his stomach after the gunshot was heard.

Police on the scene interviewed witnesses and the bus shelterwas 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 shootingappeared to berandom 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 haveboarded a bus, but police have found no evidence of that.