WINNIPEG – A family dispute over possession of a North End home may be what sparked a standoff with police, a gunfight and a man’s death.
The 16-hour standoff started on Stella Avenue Wednesday morning and ended early Thursday morning with police saying the man inside, Andrew Baryluk, was dead.
They would not say how he died or what precipitated the standoff.
Court documents show the 52-year-old had been ordered to leave his home earlier this month.
His mother’s will gave each of her children a one-fifth stake in the property after her death 10 years ago.
Baryluk resided there, paying $240 rent to his brother John, who looked after the house. However, John decided it not longer made financial sense to keep the house and put it up for sale.
Baryluk tried to fight it at the Residential Tenancy Board, writing in an affidavit that it was his understanding he had a “life lease” on the home.
An appeals court ruled otherwise and ordered he vacate the property. That eviction order was to expire Aug. 5.
Carl Devera lived across the street and said his neighbour was distraught over the eviction.
“He was upset his house was being put up for sale because he’s been living there for awhile. I think he grew to love it so much, he just didn’t want to leave it,” he said.
The initial call came to police Wednesday morning as a man in distress. When they arrived he made threats and barricaded himself inside the home.
Police contacted Baryluk and spoke with him, but negotiations broke down and shortly after 8:20 p.m. Shots were fired from within the residence, police said in a news release. Police returned fire, they said.
The tactical support team entered the home at about 3 a.m. and found Baryluk’s body inside, police said.
No officers were injured in the standoff.
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