A man has been arrested and is being evaluated after he was acting erratically in his apartment building with a knife before barricading himself in a suite. 

Today just after midnight members of the Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) responded to an apartment building in the 400 block of Kennedy Street. Security personnel reported that an adult male was acting erratically and threatening people in a common hallway with a knife.

Tactical Support Team officers arrived first and were confronted by the male, still armed with a knife. A less-lethal impact round was deployed; however, it had little effect, and the male retreated into a suite – barricading himself behind a locked door. 

Ongoing attempts at communicating with the male, including deployment of the Crisis Negotiation Unit, were ineffective.

The affected floor was evacuated, and at roughly 5:30 a.m., the Tactical Support Team deployed CS gas into the suite after breaching the door. To minimize spread, the building’s HVAC system was shut down beforehand, and exhaust fans were pre-acquired to assist with ventilation.

The male exited the suite but continued to act erratically. As a result, a conducted energy weapon (“Taser”) was used to take him into custody. No injuries were reported, and he has since been conveyed to a hospital for an assessment under the Mental Health Act.