Winnipeg police say officers used tear gas and a Taser to help put an end to a an hours-long armed standoff at a downtown apartment building early Thursday.
Police, including the tactical support team, were called to the apartment in the 400 block of Kennedy Street just after midnight, where they say a man armed with a knife was acting erratically and threatening people in a common hallway.
They say the armed man confronted officers, who used what police call a less-lethal impact round, which, they say, had little effect.
That’s when police say the man barricaded and locked himself in a suite.
Officers with the crisis negotiation unit spent the next few hours working to communicate with the man, but police say that too didn’t bring him out.
Police say at roughly 5:30 a.m. the tactical support team deployed tear gas into the man’s suite after evacuating the entire floor.
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The building’s HVAC system was temporarily shut down and fans were set up to help with ventilation, police said in a release later in the day Thursday.
While the tear gas worked to get the man out of the suite, police say he continued to act erratically, which, they say, led officers to use a Taser to help take him into custody.
No injuries were reported. Police say the man has since been taken to hospital for an assessment under the Mental Health Act.
There’s been no word from police about what led up to the incident and no charges have been announced.
–With files from Shane Gibson
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