It wasnB次元官网网址檛 a gun, but the threat of one is something police had to take seriously.
When an agitated young man (believed to be in his 20s) called 911 from the pay phone in the lobby of George Pearkes Community Recreation Centre on Wednesday night, threatened suicide and claimed possession of a gun, it between the man and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (heavily armed police).
The scare of a shooter was real, though short lived.
Turns out there was no gun, but there was a person in an extreme mental health crisis.
At the threat of a shooter police urged Pearkes be immediately placed on lock down. Ice times were over, the gym was empty and the only remaining people in the building B次元官网网址� five staff and one patron B次元官网网址� hid themselves away for a little more than an hour as Saanich Police negotiated with the man.
B次元官网网址淚t started around 9 p.m. in the library (which closes at 9 p.m.) and transitioned into the lobby of Pearkes,B次元官网网址� said Saanich Police Sgt. Jason Bland.
The suspect was eventually apprehended at about 10:30 p.m. Following his apprehension he was sent to the hospital for further assessment, said Sgt. Paul Smith.
Police did not recommend criminal charges.
B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day it culminates as a mental health file,B次元官网网址� said Bland.
Responding to mental health calls are not uncommon for the GVERT. On average GVERT responds to a total of about . In 2016 it hit a high of 71, and nine of those calls were deemed as mental health incidents. But wasnB次元官网网址檛 created to respond to mental health incidents. Ideally, GVERT is a well-trained tactical team and is generally successful in assisting regional police in high-risk situations, such as recovering firearms on calls, having done so in 23 of its 71 deployments in 2016.
Should the gun threat have been omitted from the call, Saanich Police could have referred for help from the Integrated Mobile Crisis Response Team, which is made up of Island Health nurses, counsellors, child and youth mental health clinicians, and police officers from the Victoria and Saanich Police. IMCRT responds to people in psychiatric or situational crisis across the Capital Regional District.
From December of 2016 to May of 2017, IMCRT answered a staggering 687 phone calls from Saanich, 1,020 from Victoria and hundreds more from around the region.
B次元官网网址淚t was a great job the police did in dealing with it, weB次元官网网址檙e very thankful,B次元官网网址� said Pearkes manager Graham Thomson. B次元官网网址淲ith any public area thereB次元官网网址檚 a chance of things like this happening, as different folks come in.B次元官网网址�
ItB次元官网网址檚 not the first time someone has experienced , and it wonB次元官网网址檛 be the last. Staff are trained to assist people in need, but the line is drawn around personal safety, Thomson said.
B次元官网网址淲e train our staff on being eyes and ears, being able to communicate back to the police and others about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on, what we might see here,B次元官网网址� Thomson said. B次元官网网址淲e do not ask staff to intervene, or put themselves in harmB次元官网网址檚 way, we arenB次元官网网址檛 police. We train our staff on different techniques, to be non-confrontational, and around policies and procedures, but our main role is safety ourselves and safety around us.B次元官网网址�
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