Victoria police officers moved in with guns drawn Friday afternoon to arrest a 43-year-old man, ending a tense situation on Gorge Road East.
The incident began about 1:30 p.m. when two men staying at the Scotsman Motor Inn reportedly got into a fight, leaving one of them injured. The victim, a 40-year-old man, said he was hit with a blunt object, possibly a gun, said Victoria police Const. Mike Russell.
The man had only minor injuries and declined attention from paramedics, Russell said, but the possibility that a firearm was involved prompted police to shut Gorge Road East to traffic in the area of the Scotsman, between Dunedin Street and Garbally Road.
“Certainly, out of an abundance of caution we were taking the extra steps there.”
The alleged attacker remained in a second-storey room at the Scotsman, and police positioned themselves in the area of the building’s outdoor walkway. He was eventually arrested, but no gun was found when the room was searched.
Officers were not able to make contact with the man for about two hours, Russell said, but just before 3:30 p.m. they managed to contact him and moved in.
“We were able to call him out from the suite and he was taken into custody without incident,” said Russell.
A police negotiator was part of the response team.
Traffic began flowing again on Gorge Road East about 3:35 p.m.
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