OSHAWA, ON-- Police opened fire on a man in a stolen hearse after he allegedly broke into a funeral home early Boxing Day.

Durham Regional Police say officers were investigating the man after spotting him in the area of King St. E. and Charles St. around 1:20 a.m.

"The man entered a business in this area and police set up outside the building," police said Wednesday.
An hour later, all hell broke loose when the man into a hearse and burst through a garage at the rear of the business, the McIntosh-Anderson-Kellam funeral home.

Officers were waiting for the man as he drove out through the south parking lot onto Bond St. E.

"At approximately 2:20 a.m. the man drove a vehicle out of the business and he was shot following an interaction with the police," cops said.

The hearse mounted the curb, smashed into a concrete barrier and came to rest on the sidewalk, just steps from the Durham Region Courthouse.

Three bullet holes were visible in the windshield of the hearse and there was blood on the outside of the driver's side door.

A shotgun was also left on the road.

The wounded man was rushed to hospital but police said his injuries are not considered life-threatening.
And no officers were injured in the encounter.

The area was cordoned off as police gathered evidence Wednesday morning.

Investigators from Ontario's Special Investigations Unit (SIU), which probes any injury or death involving police, were also at the scene.

"The SIU has assigned six investigators and five forensic investigators to probe the circumstances of this incident," the provincial police watchdog said.

The SIU is also anxious to talk to any witnesses who have not yet come forward.

Anyone with information regarding this incident should contact the lead investigator at 416-622-1886 or 1-800-787-8529, ext. 1886.