A Winnipeg mother says her 23-year-old son was shot dead by police in the North End overnight.

"I want everybody to know that they shot my son for nothing, for a stolen car. I don't think they should have shot him," Jo-Anne Malcolm said of Adrian Lacquette's death.

Police said a man was shot dead after a confrontation on Alfred Avenue near Powers Street just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, but they did not release his name.

Adrian Lacquette, 23, was shot by Winnipeg police, his mother says. (Submitted by Jo-Anne Malcolm) Officers initially went to the 800 block of Pritchard Avenue after getting a report that a woman in her 20s had been assaulted by a man just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday. The woman was not seriously injured and officers learned the man had taken off with a firearm, police said.

Two blocks away and about 30 minutes later, a woman, 50, was pulling her vehicle into her garage when she was carjacked by a man with a firearm, police said.

A business on the 1400 block of Notre Dame Avenue was also robbed by a man with a firearm around midnight.

Officers spotted the stolen vehicle on Blake Street, about 20 minutes after the business was robbed. The vehicle took off but it was tracked by the police helicopter to Alfred Avenue.

Police said there was a confrontation between the officers and the suspect, resulting in an officer-involved shooting.

Lacquette was taken to hospital, where he died.

'They don't have to treat him like that'

Malcolm said she found out about the shooting after she answered a knock on her door around 6 a.m.

Members of the Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba were there to tell her that her son had been shot by police. The unit is responsible for investigating serious incidents involving police in Manitoba.

'My boy's gone and I'll never see him again...and I dont know what to do without him.' Jo-Anne Malcolm reacts to the shooting death of her son, Adrian Lacquette Wednesday morning. (Fernand Detillieux/CBC) "They said, 'Do you know Adrian?' And I said, 'Yeah, that's my son.' I knew right away, I didn't even ask," Malcolm said.

"I said, 'Is he dead?' and they said, 'Yeah. Sorry to tell you, ma'am. He was shot this morning.'"

Malcolm said she was told that it had to do with a stolen vehicle, but she wasn't given many details.

"My son is well-known to police, but they don't have to treat him like that," she said.

Court records show Lacquette was convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking in 2013 and had a lifetime weapons ban.

A man is dead after being shot by Winnipeg police early this morning. The Independent Investigation Unit has taken over the case, and all it will say is a 23-year-old was shot after a confrontation with officers. 2:19 Malcolm said she hasn't been able to see her son's body and she wants answers about what happened.

Winnipeg Police Service Const. Jay Murray said the officers directly involved in shooting were separated and the death is being investigated by the IIU.

"I can't imagine this is an easy situation for anyone to go through, whether it be the officers that are involved, officers that witnessed this, or individuals in the area or even family members of anyone involved," Murray said. "So it is not an easy incident for anyone."

It was the ninth police shooting in Manitoba since June 2015, when the IIU started operating.

'Eruption of gunfire'

North End residents said gunshots erupted as Winnipeg police descended on the neighbourhood overnight.

"I just heard, 'Drop the gun,' and gunfire erupted, and I literally just dove for cover," said Clayton Campbell, who lives on Alfred Avenue near Powers Street.

North End residents say gunshots erupted as Winnipeg police descended on the neighbourhood overnight. Police said a man was shot dead after they were called to Alfred Avenue near Powers Street just before 1 a.m. 1:03

Campbell said he was inside his house when he heard yelling outside his window.

"It happened in a moment, a split moment. It was an eruption of gunfire."

Campbell said he was scared, but when he finally looked out the window, police officers were giving a man CPR.

Gideon Kwandibens-Baxter said he was inside his house just down the street when he heard screaming and gunshots.

"My priority was to get my family upstairs," he said.

Alfred Avenue is blocked off with police tape at Powers Street, which is a block west of Salter Street. (John Einarson/CBC) The Independent Investigation Unit asks anyone with information or video footage to call 1-844-667-6060.

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