Standoff in Cumberland neighbourhood ends 'safely,' RCMP say
One man is in custody following a police standoff in Cumberland, B.C. that lasted for just over six hours on Sunday.
Heavily armed Mounties responded to a home in the 2600 block of Rydal Avenue around 7 a.m. for what they described as an "ongoing police incident at a residence."
Neighbours told CTV News several homes in the area had been evacuated.
Comox Valley RCMP said on Twitter that the incident was confined to one home and the general public "is not considered to be at risk." Still, they asked people to avoid the area.
After lengthy negotiations failed to resolve the situation, Emergency Response Team members began to move in towards the home at 1:45 p.m. Loud bangs could be heard and the smell of some sort of gas was evident on the street outside the home.
The man surrendered himself to police outside the home and he was immediately taken into custody without any apparent injuries.
Neighbour Allan Beattie told CTV News he's met the family that lives in the home, and always found them to be "reasonable neighbours."
He said he believed it was a man inside the house, and that the other occupants – a woman and two children – had left around 7:15 a.m.
"We just hope that they can calm the guy down, or whatever," he said, adding that there's no way to know exactly what a person is going through that would lead to this type of situation.
Another neighbor, Willie Coyle, confirmed the man’s family had left the home earlier.
“It’s quite serious," Coyle said before police began moving in.
"The children have been taken out of the house. I don’t think his wife is there. He’s still in the house himself and the police officers have been very pleasant, they’ve been informing people, it doesn’t look like there’s any panic. It looks like it’s completely under control.”
RCMP are expected to release more information on the incident on Monday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
NEW 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire': A crowd pleaser that turns it up to 11
Hot on the heels of last year's 'Godzilla Minus One' comes 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,' the first ever Academy Award winner in the giant reptile's decades-long film career.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.