The incident in the Whistlebend neighbourhood of Whitehorse, YT, was resolved at approximately 4:25 pm on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, with one person is in custody. One police officer was injured during the situation, and was treated and released. No members of the public were injured in this incident.
A male individual was arrested for attempt murder and assaulting a police officer with a weapon. He will be held in custody for a court appearance on April 21, 2022. His name will be released upon charges being sworn.
Police originally attended the neighbourhood for a call related to a wellbeing check. However, the officers who attended were confronted with a bladed weapon upon interacting with the person involved, and one of the officers received injuries to their chest from this weapon. Over the following 17 hours, General Duty officers, the M Division Crisis Negotiator Team, the M Division Critical Incident Program resources, the M Division Emergency Response Team, including assistance from the E Division (BC) North District Emergency Response Team, Yukon Emergency Medical Services, Whitehorse Fire and Protective Services, and other community resources dealt with an armed and barricaded person who presented a significant safety risk to himself, the police, and others.
"This was a high risk situation for all people involved, including the police officers," says Insp. Lindsay Ellis, Officer in Charge of the Whitehorse RCMP Detachment. "We attend a variety of different calls every day, including wellbeing checks that may include requests to physically confirm the wellbeing of a loved one who is not responding or unreachable. Our response to calls for service is approached with the concern for individual and public safety, training, and caution."
As this file is currently before the courts, police cannot comment further on the investigation.
Police thank the public for cooperation while officers were on scene, especially those we were temporarily displaced while police were engaged in the area, and those who shared safety messages online from the Yukon RCMP Facebook page. The identity of the injured police officer will not be released in order to protect their privacy.