APTN National News
IQALUIT–A 23 year-old man has been arrested after entering the lobby of the Iqaluit hospital Thursday afternoon armed with a rifle, according to the RCMP.
The RCMP issued a statement saying the man was arrested without incident with the help of a police negotiator.
“With the help of an RCMP negotiator, the 23 year-old man who was armed with a rifle has been arrested without incident,” said the statement.
Mayor Madeleine Redfern Tweeted at 2:48 p.m. ET that the individual had been arrested by police.
“Individual involved in Qikiqtani General Hospital incident has now been taken into custody,” said Redfern.
The incident trigggered an evacuation of patients and staff.
All non-critical medical cases are currently being directed to the local health centre. The Qikiqtani General Hospital’s emergency room had been previously secured and is able to take in critical cases, RCMP said.
The RCMP would only say the man entered the hospital demanding information at about 1 p.m. local time.
Patients had been moved to safety to other parts of the hospital building. Some of the evacuated hospital staff have been moved to a medical boarding home across the street, while others have been sent home.
The RCMP said no patients or staff were injured during the incident.
