A dramatic all-night police standoff in New Westminster ended with officers using explosives to breach a third-storey window in order to reach a man who had reportedly barricaded himself inside an apartment.
Witnesses told CTV News the incident began to unfold at around 1 a.m. at a residence in the area of 12th Street and 6th Avenue.
Neighbours called police after hearing loud hammering noises. The source of those sounds is unclear, but the situation eventually escalated to the point where a tactical team was called in.
Police said they were asked to check on the well-being of a man inside the apartment. He was believed to be a risk to himself and possibly others, Sgt. Jeff Scott said, and officers were unsure whether he had any weapons.
"We needed to speak with him in the safest way possible," Scott said in an email to CTV.
He did not provide many details, but video from the scene showed several officers standing on a roof with their guns drawn. According to neighbours, police used three devices to set off multiple explosions, breaking a window into the man's apartment.
"My neighbour came over and knocked on my door saying there was some crazy stuff going on outside," one resident said. "Some guys on this roof here put some explosives on the windows—windows went 'boom'… They brought him out, took him out of his little jumpsuit and hosed him down."
Witnesses said the man was brought out of the front entrance of the building. They described him as wearing a yellow jumpsuit.
Scott said the man was taken to hospital for assessment. The man was alone in the apartment and no one else was involved.
"There is no public safety concern, and no one was injured or hurt," he said.
Investigators spent several hours on scene going through the residence.
It's unclear what the man was doing inside the apartment or what triggered the standoff. Police have not said what charges, if any, he could face.
With files from CTV Vancouver's Breanna Karstens-Smith
