After receiving a tip about a fugitive hiding from police, RCMP officers, including members of the elite Emergency Response Team, arrested a 30-year-old man Sunday night following an hours-long standoff in a northeast Salmon Arm neighbourhood.
The man, a resident of the Lower Mainland, was wanted on Canada-wide warrants stemming from investigations in Langley.
A press release provided by Salmon Arm Staff Sgt. Scott West states the warrants pertained to uttering threats, assault, unlawfully in a dwelling, fraudulent use of credit cards, possession of stolen mail and six firearm-related charges.
Due to the threat to public and police safety, the South East District Emergency Response Team (ERT) was called in to arrest the man, who was known to be inside a residence in the 1400 block of 16th Street NE.
The man had been living in the basement rental suite, although some residents of the area said he had supposedly moved out.
Approximately 10 homes in the area were evacuated, with a number of residents standing in the street watching the scene from behind the police road blocks.
Many of the neighbours said they noticed an increased police presence in their neighbourhood in the lead-up to the weekend.
“There was some serious surveillance going on,” said one neighbour who refused to give his name. “We live near the police station but I’ve never seen so many police cars on our street as over the past few days.”
Another neighbour expressed surprise at the situation, noting the suspect had helped her with yard work fairly recently.
A trained RCMP negotiator spent over two hours attempting to convince the man to give himself up with no success.
Following this, ERT entered the residence and the suspect was taken into custody.
While an Observer reporter was at the scene, two loud bangs could be heard, but RCMP would not confirm there had been shots fired. One officer mentioned the possible use of concussion grenades.
He also described the situation as “very dangerous.”
There were more than a dozen officers in full tactical gear with semi-automatic weapons brought in as part of the emergency response. This included an officer with a police dog, an armoured vehicle and multiple regular officers from detachments around the region. Two BC ambulance vehicles were on standby, however it appeared no one was hurt in the incident.
The suspect, wearing jeans and a white, hooded sweatshirt, was brought out into the street by police before walking to a vehicle and being placed inside for transport to the Salmon Arm detachment.
At approximately 9 p.m. the man had been arrested and the police tape was removed to allow the displaced residents back to their homes.
At the residence where the male was arrested, a motorcycle stolen from Penticton was recovered. Following the standoff, police continued to remove items from the home, including clothing and a pair of shoes.
The man is presently is custody at the Salmon Arm RCMP Detachment awaiting a court appearance.