An incident in the community of Gitsegukla First Nation Reserve near Hazelton which prompted a large police presence concluded safely with a 26-year-old man taken into custody.
New Hazelton RCMP was called to a residence Saturday morning at 3:40 for a report of an assault involving a man who was determined to be breaching court-imposed conditions for similar offences.
Upon arrival, officers encountered a distraught man who barricaded himself in the residence and claimed to be in possession of a rifle.
A witness also advised there was a woman inside.
For several hours, police made continuous attempts to de-escalate the situation with support from a Crisis Negotiator and a Critical Incident Commander.
As a precaution, a dead-end road was temporarily blocked off and officers evacuated several neighbouring residents.
At 2:15 Saturday afternoon, the man and the woman exited the residence and the man was safely taken into custody without further incident by the Emergency Response Team.
No one was injured during the incident and the man has been held for further assessment.
After a subsequent search of the residence, police officers did not locate any firearms.
The investigation is ongoing and the man is facing potential charges.
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