A man was arrested on a pair of Canada-wide warrants early this morning, after barricading himself in a motorhome for hours in a tense standoff with police.
Vancouver Police attended a call near Parker and St. George streets in East Vancouver Wednesday evening, just before 6:30 p.m., responding to reports of a domestic dispute "with a lot of yelling" but no physical assault, explained VPD Sgt. Aaron Roed in an email.
Officers arrived and began speaking with the two people involved in the dispute, when the man "refused to exit a motorhome which was associated to him," police said.
Efforts by the officers to negotiate with the man morphed into a "prolonged standoff," as he continued to barricade himself in the motorhome, parked next to a commercial warehouse property.
Police said negotiators and officers from the VPD's Emergency Response Team were subsequently called in to deal with the incident over the course of the evening. Photos posted from the scene show a large armoured police vehicle blocking the motorhome, in addition to several squad cars. Police set up a significant perimeter around the motorhome, cordoning the scene off with police tape.
Police managed to identify the man, and were able to determine that he was wanted across the country on an immigration warrant, as well as an additional warrant for uttering threats.
The incident took place about a block away from Strathcona Park, where a homeless encampment has increasingly prompted calls from area residents concerned about the health and safety of their neighbourhood. It's unclear Wednesday evening's incident has any connection to the camp.
Police took the man into custody shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Thursday, about seven hours after arriving on the scene, and arrested him on the two warrants.
The accused male was also arrested under the mental health act and taken to a local hospital for assessment, police said.
A second person involved in the initial domestic dispute was not reported to suffer any physical injuries and not arrested.
