Pang man guilty of shooting dog, firing into house, damaging vehicles
2020 Incident involving Tommy Ikalukjuak left 1 resident in ‘shock and trauma,’ court hears
A Pangnirtung man has been found guilty on six charges related to an active-shooter incident there in 2020. (File photo)
A 2020 incident where police in body armour arrested a rifle-wielding man after a dog was killed and shots were fired into a residence and nearby vehicles has led to a Pangnirtung man being found guilty on six charges.
The incident occurred May 19, 2020. Police at the time reported Tommy Ikalukjuak was 29 years old. In court, he pleaded not guilty to all six charges, but did not testify.
In a trial that ran from April 25 to 27, court heard from several witnesses, including a woman who said she was left traumatized after seeing a gunman outside her residence and hearing shots.
It happened in Pangnirtung near the 840 block, a series of linked two-storey residential units.
According to the decision released Thursday by judge Gregory Mulligan, a woman living nearby testified she saw Ikalukjuak go into one of the units on May 19, come out with a gun and start shooting at a truck as well as at the stairs outside one of the units.
She also found her dog lying dead nearby, though court heard she did not see the dog get shot.
Another resident testified that when she returned home, the scene around the 840 block was “chaotic,” according to the written copy of Mulligan’s decision.
The woman went inside, and when she looked out, she thought she could see Ikalukjuak loading a gun. She said she and her family sheltered inside as they heard shots fired outside.
According to a statement she gave to police, “she was in shock and trauma at the time,” the judge’s decision said.
Later, she went outside and found bullet holes in her snowmobile, as well as damage to her husband’s work truck and a bullet hole in her kitchen window.
Her husband also testified, saying he saw Ikalukjuak holding a gun, and that he later heard gunshots, the sound of glass breaking and the shooting of the dog.
He said he later found several bullet holes around the kitchen window frame.
RCMP Const. Robbie Burke told court that when police received the report of an active shooter, he and the detachment’s three other officers donned body armour, armed themselves with carbines and a shotgun, and took up positions around the area where the shooting was reported.
He testified he heard gunshots from what sounded like a low-calibre firearm. He later saw two other officers arrest Ikalukjuak.
Const. Jonathan Sousa told court he heard four to six gunshots. He said that as he advanced on the suspect, Ikalukjuak was holding a rifle with both hands, pointed downward.
When he ordered Ikalukjuak to drop the gun, he said, Ikalukjuak raised it above his head and threw it down, smashing it on a rock.
Court heard that 13 items were seized during a search of the area — a Marlin .22-calibre rifle, eight .22-calibre spent casings and some live .22-calibre rounds.
Justice Gregory Mulligan found Ikalukjuak guilty of recklessly discharging a firearm at the house; using a rifle in a careless manner; carrying a weapon for a purpose dangerous to the public peace; killing the dog; committing mischief over $5,000; and committing mischief under $5,000.
Ikalukjuak’s sentencing has been scheduled for the week of Aug. 15 in Pangnirtung.
And for some crazy reason, after all this is said and done, he will likely still be allowed to use a gun “to hunt and feed his family”. Welcome to Nunavut
The sentence isn’t in yet but you’ve been entirely judgemental. Don’t make assumptions and then blame “Nunavut”
This is 867’s shtick. Judgemental, smart ass quips, gives their own post lots of likes, repeat and rinse day in and day out. Rarely interesting.
.22 caliber haha
pew pew
ahh don’t worry, most likely will relocate to iqaluit
Lol I hate this is true…but this is probably what will happen.
This is a survivor and whatever led him to this incident can relate to many men in Nunavut whose daddys are filled traima from colinization in many forms. I know this man is like all men, he has a heart, soul and spirit and emotions. He has enormaous abandament issues and broken spirit. Like any drug pushers or bootleggars need mules, they target this type of person, no mom amd mo dad living with him, easy target and no issues, a very good slave. He represents your son, that I can say. It doesn’t take little push but rather lot of it to put this type of man to come to this edge, very typical of a survivor emotion, you must be really threaten to come to this point in our community. Because they are not the one who mastermind the bootlegging, they are down south who has a man in Pang who know this man actually quite well. How do I know this, well, I am a retired clergy, I have heard many stories like this. Everyone in Nunavut can relate to this man who have been gathered together in the 60s to live like today. We dont feel too sorry, its not our lifestyle but that it was applied by force after they did every way possible to erase our language, culture, and lifestyle. This man is a child of a child whose parents were kidnapped to live in this community just like any other parent in Nunavut. We have this stigma but we only get shit but mot the instigator…. The real criminal.
Are you a white night? Sick of these excuses, it’s getting old. Colonialism isn’t an excuse to be extremely wreckless with a deadly firearm.
Stop making excuses for the inexcusable.
Yes colonization is the reason for all evils. Before colonization nothing bad happened, no crimes of incest or murders or violence. An entire race of people was not deleted in geneocide. No it was all peaceful and perfect.
.
Colonization also brought things like healthcare, education, food, technology, civil rights which includes free speech and the ability to post a bunch of excuses for one individuals crimes. Fortunately terrible colonial European concepts of Justice will now account and this man’s life and upbringing on sentencing.
This is a major problem in NU… zero lateral shaming for heinous and dangerous acts. Instead a blaming of colonization. Stop enabling this type of behaviour. How about the family/families that were traumatized by these ridiculous actions? In most other jurisdictions this man would be an afterthought. Once the inquiry concluded and the RCMP were cleared for shooting him dead.
That’s weird language for retired clergy to use. I’m curious to know what kind of spiritual guidance you offered to people like this man.
What is even weirder, is that colonization of the new world was partly to spread religion. There was even a race between the church of England and the Roman Catholic Church for new converts and then subjected the people to conform to the white culture. So in a about about way she helped what she is complaining about.
God gave us all free will but also created the 10 commandments.
This man, is a man like any other – one who made his choices, and our society is the worse for them.
So how is it Pang gets in the news when a child was shot out in the land and later died from injury in Kivalliq Region?
The now deceased child’s uncle later took a rifle and walk to the other child’s place intended to shoot that child too who was responsible of the shooting. The man was later caught with no one harmed.
We need to ensure that all owners of firearm are locked and secured away. And please parents do not allow under age children handle a rifle, even if it’s a small one unless a adult is present at all times when hunting. This affects the whole community