An officer shot and seriously wounded an occupant of a car that hit two elderly pedestrians as it fled from police in the city’s northwest on Tuesday afternoon.

The incident unfolded in the parking lot of a Bank of Montreal branch on Crowfoot Way N.W., but investigators said it didn’t involve an attempt to rob the bank.

A police spokesman said police were investigating a suspicious vehicle in the area and a uniformed officer was walking up to the vehicle in the parking lot at about 3:40 p.m.

“As he was approaching the vehicle, the vehicle sped off and, in fact, in doing so, mounted the sidewalk and struck two elderly pedestrians,” Kevin Brookwell said.

At that point, Brookwell said, uniformed officers challenged the vehicle and opened fire.

Brookwell was unable to say if the officer who fired is the same one who initially approached the car or a different officer.

One of the occupants of the car was wounded and taken to hospital, where his condition is unknown.

EMS spokesman Stuart Brideaux said an ambulance took the female pedestrian to hospital in serious but stable condition. Her male companion, who was less seriously injured, was driven to hospital by a police officer.

It’s believed police took two additional occupants of the car into custody and are questioning several witnesses.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, a provincial agency that investigates events involving police that result in death or serious injury, is now heading a probe of the shooting.

One thing that’s not immediately clear is what led police to approach the suspects’ vehicle.

Brookwell wasn’t able to say if the occupants of the vehicle had been under surveillance prior to the confrontation or if officers approached the car for a different reason.

However, witnesses remarked that several police officers descended on the scene almost immediately.

“Within seconds, there was police everywhere,” said Stefan Danylo, who was waiting for a bus nearby.

Danylo didn’t see the shooting, but he and a friend ran toward the scene after hearing a loud impact followed by what he believed were two gunshots.

When they got there, Danylo saw a group of officers cutting off the wounded man’s shirt and tending to him.

“He wasn’t moving, Danylo said.

“I saw shattered glass all over the ground.”

The ASIRT investigation will now centre on whether police were justified in opening fire on the car.

Calgary police have a policy against firing on moving vehicles, but an officer who shot and killed a fleeing car thief in 2009 was exonerated for doing so because it was believed he prevented others from being hurt or killed.

Sgt. Dave Jennings shot Travis Oakes, who was behind the wheel of a stolen car and ramming police vehicles that had boxed him inside a car wash on Richmond Road S.W. At the conclusion of a provincial fatality inquiry into the case, Judge Sharon Van de Veen ruled Jennings’ actions were justified and necessary to prevent Oakes from killing or seriously hurting anyone.

An ASIRT investigation also determined the shooting was justified.