Shot in head at courthouse

Photo: The Canadian Press

Police stand in the front doors of the courthouse in Maniwaki, Que. after two people were injured in a shooting.

An 18-year-old man was shot in the head on Wednesday at a Quebec courthouse, after he was involved in a fight with a constable that was caught on video.

Quebec's independent investigations bureau is examining the incident, which took place at the courthouse in Maniwaki, Que., about 135 kilometres north of Ottawa.

The bureau released a statement saying the man managed to seize the constable's baton and used it to strike the officer over the head.

The constable then took out his gun and fired it, hitting the 18-year-old at least once in the head.

Both the officer and the civilian were transported to hospital, and the investigations bureau said it didn't know the condition of either person.

A video uploaded to YouTube and purporting to show the incident begins with someone in uniform grappling with a man in a room lined with chairs. Other uniformed officers participate in trying to subdue the man, who is then pushed into an adjacent room off-camera.

Moments later, the video shows an officer seemingly pointing a gun and shooting once towards a target that is off-camera, followed by people screaming and crying.

Quebec provincial police Sgt. Marc Tessier said in an interview that the injuries sustained by the two were deemed serious, but he couldn't say if their lives were in danger.