Police discovered two people dead in a remote B.C. community on Tuesday (April 9), following an overnight stand-off with their apparent assailant.
B.C. RCMP say officers were called to a home in Tsay Keh Dene, a small First Nation community in the Northern Interior, at about 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday. They were told shots had been fired and multiple people were injured.
When officers arrived, they found a man holding a firearm, who ran into a second nearby home. The Mounties requested assistance from crisis negotiators and an emergency response team, who got on scene and began negotiations by 12:20 a.m.
Those continued for hours with no progress, so officers called in further support. The North District Emergency Response Team arrived at about 5:40 a.m., at which point negotiations deteriorated, and the team deployed a chemical irritant into the home.
B.C. RCMP say the man then reportedly exited the residence with his firearm. Police discharged both an extended range impact munition and their firearms at the man, striking him. He was taken to hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries, according to RCMP.
Officers discovered two people dead inside the initial home they responded to. The North District Major Crime is investigating their deaths.
B.C.’s police watchdog, the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, is also investigating to see what role officer’s actions or inactions played in the incident and the injury of the armed man. The office investigates anytime police activity results in the serious injury or death of a person.
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