A man armed with a sawed-off shotgun who threatened to kill another man and burn his house down caused a four-hour standoff with Sooke RCMP and a tactical team on Monday night.
Mounties responded to a home in the 2100-block of Church Road after someone reported a man with a shotgun was threatening another man.
As officers moved in on the home, they heard what sounded like a shotgun racking, said Sooke RCMP Staff Sgt. Jeff McArthur.
Police determined the man was inside an outbuilding on the property, which is a small farm.
Officers tried to negotiate with the man and have him surrender but he was unco-operative.
“The suspect responded to numerous requests for him to surrender by emphasizing his lack of affection for the police with coarse language,” McArthur said.
The RCMP Vancouver Island Emergency Response Team was called in and tear gas was shot into the building. The four-hour standoff ended early Tuesday morning when the suspect walked out unarmed. He was uninjured. A shotgun was recovered from the outbuilding.
A 30-year-old Sooke man is charged with possession of a prohibited weapon, uttering threats and failure to comply with a probation order. The man remains in custody and is set to appear in Western Communities provincial court Wednesday morning.
