Police in Nunavik quell 26-hour stand-off

Montreal police are investigating an incident in Umiujaq where a 17-year-old gunman was shot by police after a 26-hour stand-off. (PHOTO COURTESY OF MTQ)

The Montreal police service is investigating a Nunavik shooting involving a 17-year-old boy who was wounded during a 26-hour standoff with police.

The 17-year-old faces charges after allegedly firing his weapon at police and committing an assault in the Hudson Bay community of Umiujaq.

The boy is now recovering from a gunshot wound after he was hit by a round fired by police.

Police first responded to a call to a home in Umiujaq June 12 around 9:30 p.m. to reports that someone had assaulted another person, said Montreal police service spokesman Jean-Pierre Brabant.

When police arrived at the call, the youth is alleged to have fired at police. At that point, the boy barricaded himself inside a residence.

Quebec’s provincial police, the Sûreté du Québec, brought in its SWAT team June 13 to surround the home.

Police say the suspect fired at police again later that evening, at which point an officer shot back, hitting the youth at least once in the upper chest, Brabant said.

The 17-year-old was transported to a Montreal hospital, where he’s in stable condition, Brabant said.

Police have yet to say what charges he faces.

Montreal police investigators arrived in Umiujaq June 14 to investigate the shooting.

The SQ is also looking into another police altercation in the Hudson Strait community of Kangiqsujuaq.

Kativik Regional Police Force officers there arrested a woman for public drunkenness early June 14, said SQ spokeswoman Audrey-Ann Bilodeau.

Shortly after police put her in cell at the local police station, she was found unconscious. The woman was medivaced to a Montreal hospital, where police say she’s in critical condition.

As required by Quebec law, any time someone is injured or killed during a police intervention, an outside force must be called in to investigate.