Suspect, 38, in Iqaluit standoff faces long list of charges
Tasilik Street incident Saturday lasted nearly 16 hours; no injuries reported
Two RCMP officers work at the scene of a standoff Saturday in Iqaluit, as two children stand nearby. (Photo by Daron Letts)
A man arrested Saturday after a tense 16-hour standoff with police in Iqaluit faces numerous charges, including five counts of assault with a weapon.
RCMP say Jaco Shoo Kownirk, 38, was taken into custody at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday in connection with the incident that started at approximately 12:50 a.m. when officers responded to a report of shots being fired in a residence on Tasilik Street.
An RCMP tactical team suits up at the scene of a standoff Saturday afternoon in Iqaluit. (Photo by Daron Letts)
As the situation was ongoing, police issued multiple shelter-in-place advisories to Iqalummiut on the RCMP’s Alert Ready system and on Nunavut RCMP’s Facebook page.
“The Iqaluit RCMP’s containment team was able to contain the suspect in his residence,” RCMP spokesperson Sgt. George Henrie said in a news release Monday, describing the police operation.
“Police also utilized a drone and crisis negotiators were deployed.”
Despite the shelter-in-place orders, residents and neighbours watched from a distance.
Officers kept onlookers about 50 metres from the scene throughout the day, then moved them much farther back in the final minutes of the standoff when officers used what appeared to be tear gas.
An RCMP emergency response team from Ottawa arrived in Iqaluit midday Saturday to assist in the operation, Henrie said.
“The emergency response teams that assisted the Iqaluit RCMP do have additional training and additional intervention options for these types of operations,” he said.
An unidentified adult male was driven away from the scene in an RCMP cruiser at about 2 a.m. Saturday. Then later in the morning, two elders — a man and a woman — were also brought away but not charged.
Henrie said no injuries were reported.
RCMP say Kownirk remains in custody. He is charged with five counts of assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, five counts of discharging an air rifle at a peace officer, mischief, use of an imitation firearm while committing an indictable offence, and breach of probation.
His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 21 in Iqaluit.
Thanks for all of the responders professionalism. Glad the situation ended without anyone getting physically hurt.