PRINCETON, B.C. - An 18-year-old Princeton, B.C., man who police allege entered his local RCMP detachment to shoot officers, has been charged following an armed standoff.
Benjamin Coan faces two counts of uttering death threats, break and enter and theft of RCMP property.
RCMP spokesman Const. Steve Holmes says more charges may be laid once the Crown has had the opportunity to further review the incident.
"It was clear that the male was intent on trying to attempt suicide by police," Holmes said in a news release.
The Mounties' emergency response team was brought in after police allege Coan forcibly entered the detachment with a 9-mm automatic pistol looking to shoot an officer.
No one was in the building at the time.
Holmes said Coan, who is well known to police, caused considerable damage to a parked RCMP cruiser during the standoff.
"During this time, a local officer established contact with the male and attempted to talk the male into stopping and surrendering," Holmes said.
It didn't work. Police say Coan escalated the situation when he walked from the detachment to a nearby service station.
Holmes said police evacuated the service station workers and customers before Coan arrived, though the situation intensified when a driver who didn't notice the police roadblocks attempted to access the business.
"Police moved quickly to bring the innocent civilians out of harm's way while still managing the threat and risk posed by the suspect," Holmes said.
"Shortly after this event the male agreed to surrender and threw down his weapon and walked to the police and surrendered."
Coan appeared in Princeton Provincial Court on Friday and is scheduled to appear again Monday.
None of the charges against Coan has been proven in court.
