RCMP say a suspect has been arrested in a shooting on a First Nation west of Winnipeg that sent two people to hospital in serious condition.

A man and a woman were shot early Thursday morning on the Dakota Tipi First Nation, located 85 kilometres west of Winnipeg near Portage la Prairie.

According to a former Dakota Tipi chief and family member, Dennis Pashe, the male victim is Chris Pashe and the female victim is Gracie Prince. Dennis Pashe is brother to Chris Pashe and uncle to Gracie Prince.

"I heard a shot. I woke up and I seen my brother at my mother's lying at her steps at 5 o'clock this morning," Pashe said.

Gracie was shot twice in the abdomen and a bullet hit her liver, said Dennis Pashe. Chris Pashe is stable after being shot twice in the head, he said.

"He got shot twice in the head and was still conscious ...After I called police my other brother had him in his truck and was rushing him to hospital ... I don't know a whole lot about the second shooting," said Pashe.

Gracie Prince was was shot and seriously injured Thursday morning on the Dakota Tipi First Nation, say Manitoba RCMP. (Facebook) Tyson Pashe, 31—who is Dennis Pashe's nephew—was arrested at around 1:20 p.m. CT. following a brief foot pursuit and tips from the community said RCMP Sgt. Bert Paquet.

No one was injured during the arrest, Paquet said. He added that charges against Tyson Pashe have not been finalized, and police are not looking for any other suspects at this time.

Police need to speak with witnesses and the victims to determine a motive behind the incident, Paquet said.

Tyson Pashe has 21 convictions in the last 10 years, including possession of an unregistered firearm. He was handed a lifetime weapons ban for previous offences.

Male subject was arrested in community by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rcmpmb?src=hash">#rcmpmb</a> Emergency Response Team & Police Dog Services, as a direct result from a public tip. —@rcmpmb <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/rcmpmb?src=hash">#rcmpmb</a> thanks all the residents of Dakota Tipi First Nation for your patience & understanding. Your safety is our priority. —@rcmpmb

Residents asked to stay in homes

A call about the shooting came in around 4:30 a.m. local time Thursday and police put the entire reserve in lockdown, preventing anyone from entering or leaving.

There are no schools on the reserve but RCMP officers were seen patrolling some nearby.

While an arrest has been made, Paquet said officers will remain in the area for an extended period of time as the police force's forensic identification unit processes the shooting scenes.

"Still a lot of work needs to be done … at the multiple crime scenes," he said.

"We're asking residents of the community to limit their movement and remain in their home as much as possible, and if they do move at some point during the afternoon or the evening to follow the officers' direction and not to obviously approach crime scenes that are being processed."

RCMP remain on the scene of a shooting on the Dakota Tipi First Nation that left two people injured on Thursday. (Meaghan Ketcheson/CBC)

RCMP used their canine unit, emergency response team and serious crime unit to scour the reserve during the search for Pashe. Officers urged people in the community to stay inside their homes, lock their doors and keep away from the windows.

Allison Smoke, who lives on the reserve, told CBC News in the morning that highways in the area were closed and vehicles were searched.

Smoke said she believes the shooting is connected to drugs.

"There is a serious drug problem on this reserve and chief and council refuse to address it in any kind of way," she said.

Paquet could not comment on the alleged drug connection, saying he doesn't yet know what led to the shootings.

More information about Chris Pashe and Gracie Prince's condition will be released Friday at 11 a.m. said a Dakota Tipi spokesperson late Thursday night.