VICTORIA -- A man has been taken into custody after a lengthy standoff at a downtown Victoria apartment building.
Police say the incident began just before 9:30 p.m. Thursday at a building in the 800-block of Johnson Street.
At the time, police received reports that a man who did not live in the building had entered the property and began causing damage.
Police arrived and discovered that the man had barricaded himself inside a stairwell of the building.
VicPD says that officers tried to de-escalate the situation as crisis negotiators, a VicPD K9 unit and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) were en route to the scene.
After the other police teams arrived, negotiators tried to convince the man to stand down, but he refused, say police.
GVERT officers then moved into the stairwell and used pepper spray and less-lethal munitions to take the man into custody.
Police say the man was taken into custody under the Mental Health Act and was transported to hospital by paramedics for assessment, where he remains.
The incident, which began Thursday night, came to an end early Friday morning.
VicPD says the investigation is ongoing and that police are currently recommending charges of mischief.
