Man charged with attempted murder after 2 RCMP officers shot in Melville, Sask.

A 55-year-old adult male is veneer nearly a dozen charges after 2 RCMP officers were crack in herman melville, Sask., on Sunday night.

The two wounded Mounties remained in hospital with serious and potentially life-altering injuries Monday night, RCMP said.

Markus Dodge is charged with two counts each of attempted murder, aggravated assault, discharging a firearm with intent and pointing a firearm, and a single count of unlawful possession of a firearm, in connection with the shootings.

Dodge — who is from the community, which is about 135 kilometres northeast of Regina — is also charged with assault with a weapon and uttering threats in connection with an incident before the shootings, Saskatchewan RCMP said in a news release Monday night.

Police were sent to a home on Eighth Avenue West in Melville about 9:35 p.m. CST Sunday. The shooting happened after an altercation between Dodge and another person, RCMP said.

Dodge allegedly threatened and assaulted the other person, who did not report any injuries to police, the release said.

RCMP say a gun was fired multiple times and that two officers were hit.

The injured officers were in hospital in stable condition Monday. Police said they would not release any more details about the officers.

A suspect was arrested at about 2 a.m. CST after a standoff that lasted several hours. A second person also left the home and was arrested but was quickly cleared of any involvement in the shooting.

A nearby neighbour, 47-year-old Richard Goebel, said he saw what happened just before the shooting. He said the apparent shooter was living with a woman who recently lost her partner.

Goebel said an argument with a neighbour became physical in the front yard.

"I've lived here for 35 years, and no, nothing like this has ever happened on my block," Goebel said.

"There was an argument between two people that live across the street and the neighbours about a property line, and then it just got into a pushing and shoving fest."

Goebel said he saw the man charged in the shooting disappear around the corner of the home, then heard several gunshots.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, five shots, big shots.… My wife and I just ran to the back of the house and just hit the ground," Goebel said.

"What the hell is going on? This is the little town of Melville."

Neighbour dispute led to officers being shot in Melville, Sask., witness says

Damian Goebel, a cousin of Richard's and a volunteer firefighter, lives nearby. He said he thought he heard fireworks and went to his back lane to investigate.

"You could see them ducking…. I think looking over a fence…. They were looking up, down, up, down. Then I heard shots, and then the officer said, 'Officer hit. Officer hit. I'm down.' Then I'd seen him go to the ground, and I'd seen him crawling to the back side of the cruiser," Damian said.

He said he's known one of the officers who was shot for about four years and that the officer was flashing his flashlight at him, like a signal to get back.

RCMP held a news conference in Regina about the incident on Monday morning.

Chief Supt. Murray Chamberlin, who spent time in the hospital Sunday night with the officers and their families, said he did not believe any RCMP officers fired their guns.

"What started off as a report of an assault, something we attend to routinely, ended as a potentially life-changing call for two of our officers," he said.

"Unfortunately, our job comes with inherent risks, and this is a reminder of that."

Through social media, Premier Scott Moe expressed gratitude to RCMP and first responders.

2 RCMP officers shot, seriously injured in Melville, Sask.

"On behalf of the people of Saskatchewan, we are hoping for their full and speedy recovery and stand with all those affected by this senseless act of violence," Moe wrote.

Dodge was scheduled to appear in Yorkton provincial court Tuesday morning.

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