RCMP arrest man after warning of possible active shooter in Nunavut community

CAPE DORSET, Nunavut — Police in Nunavut say a situation they had earlier described as a possible active shooting has ended with an arrest and no injuries.

RCMP say in a news release that a man from Cape Dorset was taken into custody on Saturday afternoon following an extended standoff near the community’s dump and mountain area.

The release says there are no injuries reported as a result of the situation.

Earlier Saturday, RCMP said officers were responding to a “dynamic situation” unfolding in the Baffin Island community after they had received reports that a man may have fired a gunshot.

They urged residents to stay inside their homes while they attempted to locate the suspect.

Police say the matter is still under investigation and that criminal charges are expected.

“RCMP would like to thank the community for their cooperation, patience and understanding during this incident,” police said in the release that announced the standoff was over.

Mayor Timoon Toonoo said an alert went out to residents of Cape Dorset via phones and TV, but the community’s radio station wasn’t broadcasting on Saturday.

The release said a containment team along with crisis negotiators were flown into the community to assist Cape Dorset RCMP.

It described the situation as a “dynamic incident that quickly unfolded.”

Before the suspect was arrested, Cape Dorset senior administrative officer John Hussey said the disturbance had rattled the community of 1,500, and was all the more troubling in the wake of a murderous rampage that claimed 22 lives in rural communities across northern Nova Scotia last weekend.

“Everybody here knows everybody, so when something like this happens, it affects everybody in the community mentally,” Hussey said by phone Saturday. “Especially after what happened last week in Nova Scotia.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2020.

The Canadian Press