VICTORIA -- A Langford man is in custody and more than a dozen firearms have been seized after an armed standoff on New Year’s Eve.
The incident began at approximately 10:40 p.m. after police received a report of a man pointing a loaded handgun at another person inside of their home.
The victim of the incident managed to exit the home without injury and called police.
West Shore RCMP officers – as well as crisis negotiators, police dog services and the Vancouver Island RCMP Emergency Response Team – rushed to the home, located near the 2700-block of Spencer Road.
Officers then evacuated nearby homes for safety and set up a perimeter around the man’s residence. The man, who was still armed, had barricaded himself inside the home and refused to exit until just before 3 a.m.
The man was taken into custody without further incident and has since been charged with assault and careless use of a firearm.
After he was arrested, Mounties executed a search warrant on the man’s home and seized 14 firearms, body armour, ammunition and the man’s firearms licence.
“There is no doubt that police actions in containing the situation and negotiating with the suspect descaled the situation and allowed for a peaceful resolution,” said Staff-Sgt. Raj Sandhu, operations NCO for the West Shore RCMP in a release Tuesday.
“The officers in attendance did an outstanding job in keeping our community safe,” he said.
