Armed man fired shots from inside home during 18-hour incident

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

(Updated at 5:30 p.m.)

An 18-hour-long standoff involving an armed Nunavut man and police ended mid-day March 8 with the death of the man inside a residence.

The Nunavut RCMP said the Pond Inlet man appears to have taken his own life.

On late Wednesday afternoon, March 7, RCMP officers in Pond Inlet responded to a weapons complaint at a local home. The RCMP said a police vehicle was struck by a single gunshot.

That prompted police to issue a warning to residents to stay away from the area around house number 660, where the man was located, along with a number of family members.

That evening, the RCMP brought in its V Division critical incident team and negotiators from Iqaluit, who were able to make contact with the armed man inside the home.

“An extensive effort was made throughout the evening and into the early morning hours to de-escalate the situation and convince the suspect to peacefully surrender,” the RCMP said in a March 8 release.

Early March 8, the RCMP brought in another critical incident team from Edmonton to continue negotiations with the armed man. By mid-morning, police said they heard gunshots fired within the residence and also gunshots directed outside the house.

Shortly before noon, police said they found the man dead inside the home, in what RCMP believe was a suicide.

Because the man died during a police intervention, the Calgary Police Service will conduct an independent investigation, the RCMP said.

In Pond Inlet, the RCMP continues to advise residents to stay away from house #660 while the investigation continues.

If you are in distress or thinking of suicide, please call the Kamatsiaqtut help line at 1-800-265-3333.