Four people are facing charges related to drugs and firearms after an armed-and-barricaded standoff took place in the north end of Winnipeg over the weekend.
Winnipeg police officers responded to reports of an armed robbery that involved three men around 6:15 a.m. on Friday.
An alleged gunshot was fired during the robbery by one of the suspects, which struck a man in his 40’s, while another woman, aged 25, was forcibly removed from the area by the suspects.
Officers arrived at an apartment building on Charles St. and College Ave. at 3 a.m. the next day after receiving a call that there was a woman located inside that was being held hostage.
It was later confirmed that the woman inside was the same woman who went missing during the robbery on Friday.
Winnipeg police were made aware that some of the people inside the apartment building were armed.
Upon exiting the building, two of the suspects, a 46-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman were arrested and taken into custody.
They were followed by the 25-year-old woman who police believed to have been allegedly abducted, she was unharmed.
Two people remained inside the building, however, refusing to leave, resulting in the armed-and-barricaded situation that led to three officers being injured by gunshots.
All three were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and were able to return home the same day.
“One officer sustained a wound to his thigh, an embedded shotgun pellet within his thigh. One officer sustained a wound to his forearm, also from a shotgun pellet, and one officer sustained a wound to his chest and his inner thigh, also from a shotgun pellets. All were treated at hospital for non-life threatening injuries and all went home that night,” said Winnipeg police chief Danny Smyth, according to CTV News.
Winnipeg police remained on scene for a number of hours before the two men inside were eventually apprehended and taken into custody.
“Nobody was seriously injured. We’ll support our members through their experiences of being fired upon. None of the suspects in this case were seriously injured and that’s a good outcome. Everybody went home that night,” said Smyth.
Police seized a 12-gauge shotgun and a .22 calibre rifle, as well as ammunition from the scene.
James Kayseas, 43, is charged with “assault causing bodily harm, discharging a firearm with intent, possession of a controlled substance (Methamphetamine), disguise with intent, breaking-and-entering, and various firearm-related offences.”
The other three individuals; a 50-year-old man, 46-year-old man, and a 30-year-old woman are all charged as well with drug and firearm-related charges.
The incident took place at 285 College Ave., a building that is already well known to Winnipeg police as they responded to a shooting that occurred there last September, resulting in the murder of a 25-year-old father named Daniel Raymond Garvey-Rodriquez.
According to Smyth, officers will be addressing their concerns about the building to the proper authorities. “We’ll see where that goes,” said Smyth.
The Winnipeg Police Association released a joint statement with Smyth on the incident, saying that the three members involved in the stand-off were now “at home and are physically, and hopefully mentally recovering.”
“This was a dangerous situation, and we are relieved that none of our members were seriously or fatally injured. We are also relieved that our members were able to conclude it with no loss of life. These incidents are a reminder of the dangers faced by Police Officers and the importance of having properly trained, equipped, and resourced Police members who can handle these dangerous situations properly,” reads the statement.
