A man who barricaded himself inside a Victoria synagogue for four hours Monday morning was eventually apprehended by police under the Mental Health Act and taken to hospital.
Victoria police Const. Matt Rutherford said the man suffered “non-life-threatening injuries,” but police were unable to say how they occurred.
The man could face possible mischief charges for allegedly breaking some items in the building, Rutherford said.
“He allegedly committed a criminal offence, but right now we’re worried for his own welfare.”
Police first responded to reports of an unwanted male at Congregation Emanu-El, at Blanshard Street and Pandora Avenue, just after 8:30 a.m.
The first officers on the scene encountered a man experiencing a mental health crisis, Rutherford said. As a precautionary measure, police called in the emergency response team and began negotiating with the man, who had barricade himself in a room on the second floor.
A daycare in the building was safely evacuated and the children taken to another location without injury.
Rabbi Harry Brechner said the man pushed his way into the synagogue.
“He was clearly dealing with severe mental health issues,” he said. “It took the police quite a while to safely get him out of the building.”
Brechner said there was a bit of damage as a result of the incident.
“Some of it’s going to be probably pricey because it’s very old things like stained glass windows, but nothing that can’t be fixed.”
