The Vancouver Island Emergency Response Team was summoned to a townhouse complex on Chesterfield Road in Duncan on Saturday morning after a man started firing his gun in the complex.
“The Emergency Response Team was called after the subject refused to surrender to police and barricaded himself in his home,” North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Krista Hobday said. “Once ERT was on site, negotiations continued and approximately 30 minutes later the man gave himself up.
Witness James (Burger) Smith said he happened to be in the area when the situation occurred.
“The cops were getting everybody out for their safety,” Smith related, adding that the people in the unit next to the suspect’s were the last ones out.
Smith said he didn’t see the suspect apprehended because bystanders were told to clear the area, but he had been concerned for his own safety
“I was kind of standing behind cars in case something happened,” he said.
From Smith’s perspective, things ended as well as they could.
“Nobody got shot,” he said “Nobody got hurt.”
Charges are pending regarding the firearm, Hobday confirmed.
Saturday’s incident was the second time in two days that North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP were called to a situation involving a weapon.
On Friday, a call came in about a man with a knife at the Island Savings Centre, and several police members responded to the incident.
“The investigation revealed a male with apparent mental health issues,” Hobday said. “The subject was apprehended under the Mental Health Act and taken to Cowichan District Hospital for an assessment.”