Iqaluit hospital gunman held under Mental Health Act

An Iqaluit bylaw officer maintains a roadblock on Apex Road at around 2:00 p.m. April 19 during an incident in which a man armed with a rifle was holed up inside the lobby of the new Qikiqtani General Hospital building. The man, who entered the hospital lobby around 12:50 p.m. was arrested by 2:40 p.m. No one was injured. (PHOTO BY JIM BELL)

(Updated at 11:50 p.m., April 20)

A 23-year-old man who walked into the lobby of the Qikiqtani General Hospital with a rifle April 19, uttering threats, scaring staff and triggering a three-hour armed standoff with police, is now being held under the Mental Health Act, the RCMP said April 20.

“Mental health was a contributing factor in this incident,” police said.

“The RCMP empathizes with those in our community who are struggling with mental health concerns and we will continue to work with them along with medical professionals so that they can receive the support they need.”

The man, whose name has not been released. remains under medical supervision, police said, which means he’s now held in the very hospital whose staff he previously threatened.

Police arrested the man at around 2:40 p.m. April 19, after they had surrounded the building and closed a large section of the Apex Road.

When a delegate to the Nunavut Mining Symposium walked into the lobby of the hospital April 19 at about 12:45 p.m. to visit a friend who is a patient there, he found the waiting area empty.

But soon after he arrived, a well-dressed young man entered, carrying a gun and pacing about the room, the delegate said.

“I asked him if he was all right, and he pointed at the emergency room and said “those fuckers,” the delegate said.

The delegate then decided to leave the lobby area, while the only other person there, a receptionist, locked herself into her office.

Police then arrived, the delegate said. He gave the police a statement and then headed back to the Frobisher Inn, which hosted the mining symposium the delegate was attending.

Meanwhile, the RCMP received a report at about 12:55 p.m. about an armed man inside the lobby of the hospital.

Yhe RCMP emergency response team then secured areas inside and outside the hospital. Iqaluit bylaw officers closed the Apex Road between Arctic College and the hospital intersection.

All or most staff and patients were evacuated from the hospital building or put into secured areas.

No one was harmed, police said.

With files from Jane George