Date: Friday, April 22, 2022

File: 22-14792

Victoria, BC – An armed man, wanted for breaching court-ordered conditions while pending trial for assault charges, was arrested by members of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) this morning after an hours-long barricade.

Shortly after 3 a.m. this morning, VicPD officers responded to a report that a man was breaching court-ordered conditions in the area of Hillside Avenue and Quadra Street. The man had been previously arrested for charges including assault causing bodily harm. He had been released by the court pending trial with conditions that barred him from specific geographic areas.

Officers attended, and located the man, alone and armed with a knife in a suite in a multi-unit residential building in the 2800-block of Fifth Street. The man barricaded himself in a suite in the building. The man indicated he was in possession of gasoline and threatened to set fire to the building. GVERT, including Crisis Negotiators as well as additional VicPD officers, Victoria Fire Department firefighters and B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics responded. Suites in the building were evacuated and the building contained.

Crisis Negotiators worked for several hours in efforts to get the man to surrender himself to police custody safely. Just after 7 a.m., in response to threats by the suspect to light the building on fire, GVERT officers utilized a series of less-lethal tools including noise devices and chemical irritants. The man exited the suite armed with the knife. Officers deployed an ARWEN less-lethal round, disarmed the man, and took him into custody without additional incident. He was cleared medically on scene and returned to cells where he is being held in custody.

Evacuated residents have been allowed to return home.

Officers are thanking impacted area and building residents for their patience during this dynamic and high-risk incident.

If you have information about this incident and have yet to speak to officers, please call the VicPD Report Desk at (250) 995-7654 extension 1.

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