FILE PHOTO
(ADAM PROSKIW / iNFOnews.ca)
December 21, 2015 - 2:57 PM
SALMON ARM – A suspect being chased by police near Salmon Arm had to be rescued from a house he refused to leave, even after he set it on fire last night.
The man, who was armed with knives, had barricaded himself in the home in Eagle Bay at around 10 p.m., Dec. 20, according to a RCMP media release.
Police were able to safely remove two people from the home, however the suspect refused to leave.
“During the course of the incident, the man smashed out several windows of the residence and then set the home on fire and refused to leave the residence,” Cpl. Dan Moskaluk says in the release.
A neighbouring home was also evacuated while RCMP officers spoke to the suspect, who threatened to harm himself and police.
Volunteer firefighters were called to the area after RCMP had to extinguish three fires, presumably set by the suspect, whose age is not given.
“Officers made continuous attempts to negotiate with the man to leave the residence peacefully each time that the man briefly exited the home threatening RCMP officers with knives,” Moskaluk says. “Eventually the man did set a large fire which quickly engulfed the residence.
“RCMP officers had to make several attempts to pull the uncooperative man from the blaze and succeeded when the man tried to crawl out of a very small window.”
No one was injured and the man was taken into police custody.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015