After more than seven hours, VicPD officers alongside the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team have brought an incident to a peaceful close after a 49-year-old man barricaded himself in his suite.
Officers were first called to the 500-block of Johnson Street around noon today after a resident of a multi-person community facility reportedly facing a parole revocation, made concerning statements. These statements indicated the man had an improvised explosive device.
Patrol officers and GVERT evacuated the building and surrounding area, closing both Johnson and Wharf streets to traffic, and began the process of negotiating with the man. Once it was determined to be safe to do so, officers reopened streets to traffic.
After seven hours the man agreed to disarm the device and surrendered to officers. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported to hospital for psychological assessment.
During the incident, Our Place offered to feed the displaced residents of the facility, and officers on scene appreciated the support of local businesses and residents to help minimize the disruptions caused.
