2 found dead, 1 injured by police in remote B.C. community: RCMP
UPDATE - Apr. 12, 2024: Man charged with 2 counts of 2nd degree murder in Tsay Keh Dene.
Mounties and B.C.'s police watchdog are investigating after RCMP said two people were found dead and a third was seriously injured by offi‐ cers in a remote B.C. commu‐ nity on Tuesday.
It happened at Tsay Keh Dene, a remote community about 360 kilometres north of Prince George, B.C., at the north end of Williston Lake.
Police said in a statement that at around 10:30 p.m. PT Tuesday, a caller told Tsay Keh Dene RCMP there were gunshots at a home, and that multiple people were hurt.
Officers say they went to the property and saw a man with a gun who ran into a second home. Police con‐ tained him there and nego‐ tiators started to talk to the man a few hours later.
The negotiations went on for hours, police said, and an emergency response team (ERT) was brought in. When negotiations deteriorated, ERT deployed "a chemical irri‐ tant" into the home.
The man then left the home with a gun, RCMP said. Police shot at him with their firearms and an "extended range impact munition" - de‐ scribed on the RCMP's web‐ site as "a less lethal weapon that fires large sponge or sili‐ con-tipped rounds" - inflict‐ ing serious but non-lifethreatening injuries.
The Independent Investi‐ gations Office, a civilian over‐ sight body that investigates police incidents leading to se‐ rious harm or death, said the man suffered "gunshot-re‐ lated injuries."
The man, RCMP and the IIO both said, was taken to hospital for treatment.
Police said two people were found dead in the home the man was first seen leaving.
The RCMP North District Major Crime Unit is investi‐ gating the two deaths, while the Independent Investiga‐ tions Office is looking into police actions that led to the man being injured.
Tsay Keh Dene is only ac‐ cessible via chartered flights on small planes or heli‐ copters, or by driving nearly 200 kilometres on logging roads, according to the Tsay Keh Dene Nation's website.