MANCHESTER, N. H. — Two Manchester police officers wounded by a gunman Friday were in court Monday to see the man charged with shooting them, but the suspect never appeared during the brief hearing.

Ian MacPherson, 32, allegedly shot the officers in separate confrontations early Friday, hitting one in the face and touching off a search that included a shelter-in-place order for some residents.

The suspect’s father, Russell MacPherson, told reporters after the hearing that his son had been “suffering from mental illness for a long time.’’

“We’re gonna be there for him,’’ he said before walking away.

Ian MacPherson was ordered held pending a probable cause hearing set for May 27. He is charged with two counts of attempted capital murder and resisting arrest.

In a telephone interview, his mother, Deborah MacPherson, said her son had shown signs of paranoia as a young child, wondering if people were lurking outside his bedroom door at night. As a teen, he angered quickly and suffered dramatic changes in mood. Doctors diagnosed him with schizophrenia and affective disorder, she said.

He quit high school three months before graduation and bounced from job to job. In 2012, he was court ordered to take medication, she said.

In recent years, he had been homeless and often walked around Nashua and Manchester.

“Ian is a walker,’’ she said. “Anybody who saw him walking down the streets said he was always talking to himself.’’

For a period, he slept in her car while she was at work.

“It did break my heart,’’ she said.

One of the police officers MacPherson allegedly shot, Ryan Hardy, confronted MacPherson around 2:03 a.m. Friday because he fit the description of a suspect who had robbed a Shell gas station in Manchester hours earlier.?

MacPherson allegedly opened fire on the 27-year-old Hardy, shooting him in the face and shoulder before fleeing. Hardy was able to radio that he had been shot and provide a description of the suspect, according to audio recorded by broadcastify.com.

“Shots fired! Shots fired! I’ve been hit,’’ he yelled.

“Where are you?’’ a dispatcher asked.

“I’ve been shot,’’ Hardy said. “White male. Long hair. Trench coat.’’

MacPherson is also accused of shooting Officer Matthew O’Connor, 28, in a leg about 20 minutes later. Authorities allege that MacPherson yelled, “I’m your man,’’ as he attacked O’Connor.

O’Connor walked with a limp as he left the courtroom where MacPherson’s arraignment took less than five minutes to complete. Hardy had bandages on his face and neck.?

MacPherson’s mother learned of the shootings on Friday morning when police called her at work. “Is this about my son?’’ she asked, according to a police affidavit.

Also according to a police affidavit, Ian MacPherson recently acquired the gun allegedly used in one of the shootings. On March 19, MacPherson tried to buy a .40-caliber Smith and Wesson semiautomatic handgun at Chester Arms in Derry. On his application, he listed a former residence, investigators later learned.

After a background verification process, he returned to the store on April 1 and paid $349 for the gun. He also bought 50 rounds of Magtech .40-caliber ammunition for 18 dollars.

Investigators at the scene of the first shooting, recovered 15 shell casings that matched the Magtech ammunition bought at Chester Arms on April 1.

His mother said she was not aware of her son owning a gun before that.

“He should not have been able to get a gun. That’s frightening,’’ she said. “He was always paranoid but he’d never gone to the extent of buying something like that.’’

Manchester Police Chief Nick Willard also spoke with reporters after the hearing, saying that the families of Hardy and O’Connor have endured a wide range of emotions since Friday.

“Their husbands went out to work and they got that dreaded phone call,’’ he said. “The families are going through a lot of emotions.’’

He said both officers are doing well, feeling upbeat and are eager to return to work.

Deborah MacPherson said she is heartened to know the officers are likely to make a full recovery.

“I really feel for the officers,’’ she said.

The shooting, she said, highlights the larger issue of mental illness and the budget cuts that push people like her son out of the care they need.

“This will be happening only more and more if they don’t help these mentally ill,’’ she said.

Sarah Schweitzer can be reached at sschweitzer@globe-.com. John R. Ellement can be reached at ellement@globe-.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.