A five-year member of the Calgary Police Service was wounded in a shootout in a northeast neighbourhood on Tuesday and ASIRT has been called in to investigate the circumstances surrounding the suspect's death.

Police were called to the 100 block of Abingdon Way N.E. just after noon for reports of an incident involving a firearm and were faced with an armed offender when they arrived.

It is believed that the suspect was involved in a convenience store robbery and attempted carjacking before trying to break into a home in the community.

The armed suspect was located between two homes and police say he started firing at officers when they tried to approach.

“As officers entered the backyard, the suspect began firing shots at the officers. It is our understanding that a member, or members, of our service returned fire,” said Calgary Police Chief Roger Chaffin.

Constable Jordan Forget was shot during the ordeal and was rushed to Foothills Hospital from the scene.

Chief Chaffin said Forget was “seriously wounded” but that he is “doing as well as can be expected” and is now in stable condition.

The suspect holed up in a garage and neighbours hid in their homes while the tense standoff unfolded.

“There was about four popping noises, like a gun going off, and then it stopped and then we heard one or two after that and then that was it,” said Craig Gibson who lives nearby.

A short time later, thick clouds of smoke could be seen coming from the garage and firefighters were called in to douse the blaze.

The suspect was found dead inside the charred building by investigators at about 1:30 p.m.

The shooting has rattled residents in the area and some say they are still shaken by the incident.

“I just heard the gunshots from the kitchen, I had my kitchen window open, and I came to see what was going on and I just saw cops running from everywhere so I told my kids to go in the basement,” said Chantelle McElwain. “I’ve never witnessed anything like that in my life.”

McElwain says an officer came into her home and took up a position in an upstairs room. She says he told her to also go to the basement.

“Then he came and said that they confirmed that the guy was deceased in the garage,” she said. I was terrified, I was really terrified actually. I’m still kind of shaky.”

Chaffin says more details about the suspect will come out in the coming days and that he is proud of the way his officers responded.

“They’re all heroes,” he said. “I’m very proud of how our members, and there were dozens of them that responded to this call, acted with tenacity, professionalism and bravery.”

Premier Notley passed on her best wishes to the officer and his family at a press conference in Calgary on Wednesday and says that the province will continue to work with law enforcement to curb crime.

“Our best wishes go out to the officer and his family and we are very hopeful for his speedy recovery and want to reinforce the message that I think all Albertans would want to deliver, which is that we appreciate his service, each and every day, and thank him and his family for his service,” she said.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT) is investigating, which is standard procedure when police involved incidents result in a death.

ASIRT officials say the suspect's body was found in a building that was being contained by police so it is considered an in-custody death.

The identity of the suspect has not been released yet and an autopsy is expected to be conducted in the next few days.