By Katie Ryan
A tense three-hour standoff ended peacefully Monday morning.
Lloydminster RCMP were notified at approximately 9:20 a.m. of an armed 35-year-old male in a residence located near 45 Avenue and 49 Street and promptly set up a perimeter.
Cpl. Grant Rusk said the incident stemmed out of a domestic dispute and that officers were dealing with a man who was threatening to harm himself.
“We were dispatched to a report of a suicidal male in possession of a firearm and we attended the residence, ensured that no one else was in the residence and evacuated the nearby residences,” he said. “We contacted the school (E.S. Laird), advised them of the situation and asked that they not let any of the students out of the school, until advised otherwise.”
Officers initiated communication with the man, but were forced to contact Edmonton’s Emergency Response Team, who mobilized and were en route when the male became cooperative and emerged from the house around noon.
“He initially refused to come out of the residence and turn himself into the police. We secured the perimeter and set up a corridor around the building, so no one was coming or going,” said Rusk.
“He was arrested by members as he was leaving.”
The man, who is known to police, appeared before Justice and was charged with the following: possession of a weapon dangerous to the public, possession of a prohibited weapon and assault.
“He’s had prior dealings with the police, but there was no recent issues with similarly related matters to our knowledge,” said Rusk.
Though the standoff occurred near E.S. Laird middle school, Rusk said officers took every precaution to ensure the safety and nearby residents.
“By contacting the school and having them keep the students inside we mitigated the danger as best we could. Certainly we took every reasonable precaution, we had members between the school and the residence,” said Rusk. “In terms of preventative there is nothing that you can predict is going to happen anymore than that, it would just cause mass hysteria if you go out and start evacuating areas too far away. You can only forecast so many things, this was the way that we did it and it was fairly successful.”