Nunavut RCMP: standoff in Pangnirtung comes to an end

A view of Pangnirtung, where police asked people to avoid an area of the downtown where an armed standoff started at about 1 p.m. March 14. The situation continues as of the morning of March 15. Schools are closed today and the affected area is closed to municipal services. (FILE PHOTO)

(Updated, 9:00 p.m., March 15)

A 32-hour standoff in Pangnirtung between police and an armed man barricaded inside a house, which started midday March 14, ended with the arrest of a 38-year-old man, police said on the evening of March 15.

“Looks like it’s finally over,” a Pangnirtung resident told Nunatsiaq News on social media.

“The stand-off is over. There will be school tomorrow!” another resident said.

In a news release issued at 8:35 p.m. March 15, Nunavut RCMP said they had resolved the situation “without incident” and that a 38-year-old man has been taken into custody.

Police did not state what charges the man may face.

Schools in Pangnirtung were closed March 15, and municipal services were cut off from an area close to the barricaded home.

Flights to Pangnirtung, where the airstrip lies in the middle of the community and close to the site of the standoff, were also cancelled March 15.

A short RCMP release issued at 8:27 p.m. March 14 had asked people in the community of about 1,700 people to stay away from a section of the downtown area.

In its first report of that day, at about 1:30 p.m., the RCMP said its members were investigating reports of “an armed individual” barricaded inside a home in Pangnirtung.

Police asked everyone to stay away from the community’s 300 area “to ensure public safety.”

Meanwhile, a number of local facilities in Pangnirtung, including the arena, co-op, post office and Uqqurmiut arts centre, also closed.

On March 15, the community’s two schools closed for the day.

On March 9, an armed standoff in Sanikiluaq also led to a lockdown of a section of that Hudson Bay community and the arrest of a man.

Last month, an armed standoff and overnight lockdown in the Kitikmeot community of Gjoa Haven ended with the death of an armed man.