Police standoff and school lockdown ends in Lumby, B.C.

Police say a standoff in the North Okanagan on Monday at a home in Lumby, B.C., has ended peacefully.

Ray Carfantan, the RCMP’s southeast district superintendent, says a man was taken into custody without incident.

Officers responded to a “disturbance” on Shuswap Avenue at around 8:15 a.m., police said.

Beth Mackie, manager of the Val Marie Manufactured Home Park, said residents of approximately 40 mobile homes were told to stay inside.

“They are just asking us to stay back out of the way,” she said.

Mackie said a single man in his 60’s lives in the home that was surrounded by police and officers used a loud speaker to try to communicate with him.

Carfantan says one person inside the trailer alleged another person had broken in, and did not allow the person to leave until police arrived.

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The man then refused to come outside.

“Unfortunately, there was a need to access the trailer, we had some indication that perhaps he was under medical distress, so we did use the specialized tools at our disposal to get inside of the residence and safely extracted him,” he said.

0:56 Highway 3 west of Keremeos remains closed, Highway 6 opens 1 lane east of Lumby

The public was asked not to post the location or activities of police officers on social media so as not to put anyone’s safety at risk.

RCMP were in contact with residents and nearby schools, police added.

J.W. Inglis Elementary School is on the same street as the standoff. A receptionist directed Global News to the school board office for comment.

Lynn Jameson, the executive assistant to the district superintendent, said the school was under a “hold and secure,” which is similar to a lockdown.

“All students/staff are safe and inside the school pending further direction from the RCMP,” she said.

Carfantan says the school lockdown has since been lifted.

He said it is unclear if a weapon was involved or if the man will face any charges.