A man’s comments on social media brought police to a Quadra Street home and ultimately resulted in a three-hour standoff early Thursday morning.
Sgt. John Price said police were called to a home on the 4100 block of Quadra Street at 5:15 a.m. Thursday in response to comments made by a 24-year-old Saanich man on social media to a member of his family in Central Canada.
“That family member contacted the police as they had concerns for the health and welfare of their family member,” said Price with the Saanich Police.
When police arrived at the scene they found the man barricaded in one of the rooms of the home.
“During the course of that conversation it was learned that the man was in possession of possible explosive devices or flammable devices,” said Price.
The officers exited then exited the home and contained the scene, calling in members of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team. The incident resulted in traffic being diverted from the 4100 block of Quadra for almost two hours.
The man walked out of the home at 8 a.m. and was taken into custody by ERT members, suffering minor injuries during his arrest.
“They describe it as what’s referred to as an unheralded exit, meaning he exits without being invited to come out,” said Price, adding that police observed smoke coming from a window in the home just as the man came out.
The man was transported by ambulance to Royal Jubilee Hospital, where he is being held under the Mental Health Act.
“Barricading yourself I think is more of a cry for help,” said Price.
He said the police response was simply to check on the health and welfare of the man after receiving a report from a family member, and any potential criminal charges would come as the result of the police investigation.
“They’ll have a look in the house. If there’s things in the home that he shouldn’t have in his possession that could trigger criminal charges.”