A suspect who reportedly stabbed someone inside a James Bay apartment building Tuesday night has been arrested, according to Victoria Police.
Around 9:30 p.m., VicPD officers responded to a report of a stabbing at a multi-unit residential building in the 200-block of Michigan Street, where they arrived to find the victim, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, outside the unit.
They were then transported to hospital, say police.
But the suspect refused to exit the unit and barricaded themselves inside, said VicPD in a news release. They say officers “proceeded to secure the area” and told neighbours to shelter in place.
“It was a little nerve-wracking because we could hear the police talking to them just from our suite. It’s a small building,” a neighbour, who did not want to be named, told CHEK News.
“It really was scary for my daughter, who’s 13.”
Officers from the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) were also on scene to assist VicPD officers.
“Members of GVERT, including trained Crisis Negotiators, attended the scene and worked to resolve the incident peacefully for several hours,” reads the release.
“However, extensive efforts to communicate with the suspect and de-escalate the situation had minimal success.”
By 6 a.m. Wednesday, a judicial justice granted a warrant to enter the property, and GVERT members “breached the door” to the unit.
The suspect, who remains in custody, was then arrested without incident, added police.
The neighbour says they’ve never experienced something like this before, adding, “It’s James Bay. You don’t get that kind of thing over there.”
VicPD says the investigation is ongoing.
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Ethan Morneau
