By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Pincher Creek standoff ends with one man in custody

Feb 8, 2017 | 7:51 AM

PINCHER CREEK – One man is in custody with charges pending, following a standoff with police in Pincher Creek that lasted nearly eight hours, and forced the RCMP to bring in resources from across southern Alberta.

“It started with a shots fired complaint,” stated Pincher Creek detachment commander, Sgt. Mark Harrison, after the man was arrested. “Two members responded to the complaint of shots fired, at the house at approximately 4:40 [a.m.]. They arrived around 5 o’clock [Wednesday] morning, and after arriving on scene, they exited their vehicles and were approaching the home, and when they were approaching the home, a male exited the front door of the house and fired off a round towards them.”

The officers quickly retreated and called for back-up, with the local force then cordoning-off the area, which includes Matthew Halton High School. Other schools throughout the community were also shut-down, as the home was directly across the street from a school bus depot.

To assist with the situation, the RCMP’s Emergency Response Team was called in, which includes at least one negotiator, a number of heavily armed officers and an armoured vehicle. An RCMP helicopter also patrolled the airspace over the scene. Throughout the morning and into the early afternoon, the armoured vehicle continually moved about on the street in front of the house, with officers using a mega-phone to attempt communication. 

“This was a very large response, as you can understand, with members being shot at,” said Harrison. “So, we have members from Calgary, we have members from Crowsnest Pass, Piikani, Fort Macleod.”

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Just before 1 p.m., the sound of breaking glass travelled through the air, and within minutes police started dropping their blockade. When asked how the man was taken into custody, Harrison stated that he couldn’t comment. He did note that no one was injured over the course of the day.

Harrison also responded to questions about other people being in the home at the time, as rumors swirled throughout the community of a possible hostage situation.

“We received information that there was two people living in the basement of the home. What their relationship is to the subject, we do not know at this time and that’s part of our investigation, but they were able to leave the home safely,” Harrison explained. “There was at no point a hostage situation that we understand, but again, that’s part of our investigation. So, we’ll determine that, whether they were held or just in there, downstairs, on their own free will.”

While saying he could not identify the man at this time, Harrison did acknowledge he is known to police.