A masked man took hostages and fired shots outside a courthouse in Salmon Arm, British Columbia, on Tuesday, the RCMP said. The man had a gun and a knife with him, and was acting erratically. At about 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Salmon Arm RCMP received a call about a man with a gun who had been firing into the air. Officers arrived at the scene, and located the man, who took some hostages and fired at least one shot into the air. According to CTV, the man took hostages and told them not to call police. Police warned that the man could be armed with explosives. Approximately five hours later, the situation was resolved. CTV reported that police had gained control of the man by force and found a gun on the ground nearby. The man is in custody and no one was hurt. The gunman was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.
The details are still emerging in the case, but the incident is the latest in a string of shootings across Canada that have been captured on camera. Last week, a man shot and killed a gardener in his backyard in Kelowna, British Columbia, and injured two others in the park before the shooter was shot dead by police. Last month, a would-be assassin was able to strike within a matter of seconds in downtown Toronto. At least six people were wounded when an unlicensed, illegally possessed handgun went off near a busy subway station. And on Friday in Edmonton, Alberta, a man shot and killed a police officer before injuring another five bystanders. His motives remain unknown.