Attempted murder charge laid in shooting

Man accused in downtown incident remains in hospital and in custody

The 34-year-old man arrested in the downtown shooting last week in Saskatoon is facing seven charges, including attempted murder and several weapons-related offences.

Other charges laid against Michael Andrew Arcand include use of a firearm while committing attempted murder, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, carrying a homemade shotgun without reasonable precaution for the safety of other persons, possession of a homemade shotgun, possession of a firearm without a licence and manufacturing a firearm.

Saskatoon police announced the charges on Monday.

Arcand remains in custody in hospital. He is scheduled to appear Oct. 11 in Saskatoon provincial court.

The incident took place Sept. 27, starting when officers responded around 3 p.m. to the 200 block of Fourth Avenue South after a report of a car theft in progress.

Police located a suspicious-looking man in possession of what appeared to be a long metal pipe but turned out to be a firearm, acting police Chief Mark Chatterbok said the day after the shooting.

Police first tried to talk the man into custody.

When that did not work, police deployed a conducted energy weapon — commonly known as a Taser — and then several beanbag rounds. Seconds later, the man fired a shot at officers, Chatterbok said. At that point, police switched to what Chatterbok called “lethal force” and returned fire.

The man was taken by ambulance to hospital with non-lifethreatening injuries. The man suffered a gunshot wound, possibly to the shoulder, as well as injuries consistent with dog bites. The canine unit was involved in a foot pursuit of the suspect, Chatterbok noted.

No officers were seriously injured during the incident.

Chatterbok felt officers at the scene “used a great deal of restraint” while responding to a “dangerous situation.”

Chatterbok said he did not know how many officers returned fire or the total number of shots fired.

A loaded weapon with a live round in the chamber was recovered at the scene, Chatterbok said, describing the weapon as an “improvised firearm.”

“Certainly this individual posed a significant threat to the public as well as our officers,” Chatterbok said.

“Whenever a firearm is deployed … there’s concern for public safety and officer safety.”

The officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave until an investigation — which began Wednesday and involved third-party oversight and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice — is completed, Chatterbok said.

Certainly this individual posed a significant threat to the public as well as our officers.