The man accused of shooting a police officer in the face with a pellet gun is also a person of interest in the arrow shooting death of Michael Gibbon in Kitchener, Ont., police say.

Waterloo Regional Police Service officers were following a vehicle and tried to get it to stop near Ottawa Street South and Nyberg Street around 5:20 p.m. when the driver pulled out a pellet gun and shot, striking an officer in the face and hand.

The officer then returned fire, striking the vehicle, police said.

"Investigators were hoping to stop [the man] to speak with him in relation to the homicide," said Staff Sgt. Mike Haffner.

Eric Amaral, 29, who had a court order not to possess firearms, has been charged with offences relating to Tuesday's shooting, Haffner said. No charges have been laid in the Gibbon investigation.

'A number of persons of interest'

Police said Amaral is one of over 20 people of interest in the arrow slaying.

"There are a number of persons of interest involved in the homicide investigation," said Haffner.

"Every person of interest either needs to be eliminated, or investigated to provide an alibi, or investigated to provide some relationship or correlation to the investigation at hand."

Gibbon, 60, was killed by an arrow wound to the chest on the morning of Oct. 5. He was on his daily morning walk — "basically his only exercise" — when the incident occurred, his sister Linda Leinweber told CBC Radio's As It Happens.

Gibbon was found around 7 a.m. ET on the front corner yard of a home at 387 Margaret Ave. He was transported to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

"We're still appealing to the public for any information relating to people with information that may assist us in successfully closing the investigation," Haffner said.