An armed stand-off on Brunswick Street has come to a peaceful conclusion.
Thunder Bay Police have one man in custody in relation to the five-hour incident, which began when city bylaw enforcement officers approached the suspect with questions about his property, a dilapidated one-storey house with a yard littered with fuel canisters, old vehicles and several piles covered with heavy-duty tarps.
Police spokesman Chris Adams said the incident began just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning. It ended about 2:30 p.m.
“It’s alleged that a firearm was displayed. The individual, the male who was the subject of this bylaw order went back into his residence and that’s essentially when the stand-off began.”
Adams later indicated a shotgun was the weapon involved.
The 53-year-old man, who has not been named, barricaded himself inside his home with his girlfriend.
A neighbour who lives several doors down from the suspect said the incident seems completely out of character of the man, who will remain locked up at least until his first court appearance, which could come as early as Thursday morning.
“He’s always been a friendly fellow. He usually stays around his yard. He smiles and waves every time you go by. He collects a lot of stuff and maybe that was the issue, I don’t really know,” Robert Johnson said, about an hour after the stand-off came to an end.
“I didn’t really know her,” he said, when asked about the girlfriend, who police say has not been arrested, though did not rule out charges being laid against at a future date.
Armed officers from the emergency task force arrived on scene and immediately cordoned off the perimeter of the home, backed up by other on-duty officers.
“It escalated fairly quickly,” Adams said earlier in the day.
Adams declined to say the exact nature bylaw violation the suspect was accused of by city officials, but did say it was the enforcement officer who made the initial 911 call.
A phone call to the city’s bylaw enforcement office asking for comment was not immediately returned on Thursday afternoon.
Calling it a game of patience, Adams said the biggest thing from the police point of view was trying to contain the area.
A Tim Hortons across the street from the home in question was evacuated, as were several nearby residents.
Those who left their homes were told they could not return.
Johnson said it was frustrating, but understandable.
“I came out when I saw them hanging around my motor home to see what was up and I was advised that if I wasn’t involved to just go back inside and stay there,” Johnson said. “I was just watching and trying to keep track of all the SWAT guys and the police cars not … able to get outside and do what I needed to do for the day.
“My wife couldn’t get out to go to work until just a few minutes ago.”
Police also closed off several streets in the vicinity of the incident, including chunks of Waterloo Street and Victoria Avenue.
Adams said their No. 1 concern was public safety, and police prefer to err on the side of caution.
