Fort Chipewyan RCMP search for 'person of interest' following Monday exchange of gunfire

A surveillance photo supplied by Wood Buffalo RCMP. Mounties in Fort Chipewyan are looking for a male 'person of interest' following a shooting incident on Aug. 21, 2023, in the northern Alberta hamlet. (Supplied)

RCMP in Fort Chipewyan are searching for a 'person of interest' following the exchange of gunfire Monday night in the northern Alberta community.

Wood Buffalo RCMP reports an unknown number of suspects opened fire at about 8:30 p.m. on a Henry Drive residence followed by return shots from the home. No one was injured in the incident, say RCMP.

An overnight lockdown of the hamlet of 798 people, the seat of the Mikisew Cree First Nation that's located on the west side of Lake Athabasca, was ordered yesterday by Mikisew Cree Chief Billy-Joe Tuccaro, said the Fort Chipewyan RCMP detachment. It has since been lifted.

RCMP are searching for a male described as having a dark complexion, wearing a beard and a yellow tank top, standing 5-foot-10 and weighing 220 lb.

Fort Chipewyan is about 700 kilometres northeast of Edmonton and about 225 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

Anyone with information about the gunfire or the person of interest is asked to contact Fort Chipewyan RCMP at 780-697-3931, your local police, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8377 or online at P3Tips.com.