An armed man shot in a confrontation with a Regina constable early Sunday was endangering the lives of six children and three adults inside a home in the city's north-central area, police say.

Police Chief Troy Hagan said the 27-year-old was shot in the torso by a female officer in the backyard of a home in the 1300 block of Montague Street shortly after midnight.

The man was taken to hospital, where he remains in stable condition. Charges have not yet been laid in connection with the incident, Hagan said.

Someone at the home called 911, police said. Officers arrived to find the man at the rear of the building waving a long-barrelled gun, Hagan said.

"He was given instruction to drop the weapon but did not follow police commands," Hagan told reporters at a Sunday morning news conference.

It's believed only one shot was fired in the confrontation.

The officer who shot the man is 30 years old and is about a month shy of her five-year anniversary with the Regina Police Service, Hagan said.

No one other than the man who was shot was injured, police said.

It's only the second time city police have shot someone since 1998, and the first incident since August 2008.

The RCMP is overseeing the investigation into the incident, Hagan said.

"At this point our investigators will be gathering and evaluating information about the event, which includes all of our police members involved," Hagan said.

Witnesses and the man who was shot will also be interviewed, Hagan added.