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UPDATE: Victoria police use irritant gas during arrest of assault suspect

A block of Pandora Avenue was closed as a man barricaded himself from police
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Victoria police used irritant gas during the arrest of an assault suspect on Thursday after they said he barricaded himself from police for hours. (Black Press Media file photo)

Victoria police used irritant gas during the arrest of an assault suspect on Thursday after they said the man barricaded himself from police for hours.

The arrested man was a suspect in an investigation related to an assault causing bodily harm and a choking assault.

Officers were looking to arrest the man at a Pandora Avenue supportive-housing facility when they arrived just before 1 p.m. on July 29. After locating the man, police said he refused to give himself over and barricaded himself inside a suite before officers began to negotiate with him. Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) officers and crisis negotiators then attended the scene.

Police said nearby residents were evacuated and a block of Pandora Avenue, between Douglas and Blanshard streets, was closed out of an abundance of caution.

After hours of unsuccessful negotiation, police said GVERT officers deployed irritant gas during the arrest. VicPD said the man was not injured and he remains in custody.

Around 4:50 p.m., VicPD tweeted that there was no immediate risk to the public, but traffic would be impacted in the area near the closed block as they were working to resolve the incident.

Police began to reopen the street shortly before 6 p.m.

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