Niagara regional police continue to negotiate with a man barricaded inside a former church in Welland, Ont., in a standoff that began around 8 a.m. ET.
According to police, the man shot and wounded an officer after bylaw officials went to the property to address a large fence blocking traffic sightlines.
The officer was taken to hospital and has since been released “with minor physical injuries,” said police, who are urging people to remain sheltered in place.
Chloe Ernest lives across the property where police have been negotiating with a man since Friday morning and says everything happened right after she and her family woke up. She said she first saw officers near her house and a few minutes later heard the shots.
She wasn’t sure what she was hearing at first, but when she saw construction workers fleeing the scene and police redirecting traffic, “That’s when the anxiety flooded in.”
The shelter in place was still ongoing as of just before 7 p.m., when Niagara police said in a post on X, “if members of the public are questioning recent sounds heard in the area, police have initiated tactics and equipment to determine the wellbeing of the male inside the home.”
“I’m feeling very anxious, very stressed, continually throughout the day … it’s only grown,” Ernest told CBC News.
“It’s also developed into irritation, now I’m irritated…. I feel like a hostage in my own home right now.”
Const. Richard Hingley told CBC News in the late afternoon that police are preparing for a “long-term operation.”
“We understand it’s a strain in the community to have a shelter in place this long,” Hingley said, “but it is for their own safety and it does help us do our job better.”
Around 5 p.m., police said a shelter was established in a community centre at 145 Lincoln St. for those unable to return home for the time being. Those seeking shelter there will need to provide proof of address.
The man is still being “contained” in the building, Niagara police said on X, formerly Twitter, shortly before 4:30 p.m.
“Officers along with Emergency Task Unit members remain at the scene with negotiators working towards a peaceful surrender,” the post said.
Ernest said the only thing giving her “peace of mind” are the regular police updates saying the man is still in the building.
“We hope he doesn’t flee because that puts me in a further state of risk and anxiety and panic,” she said.
Addressing media at about noon, Hingley said the incident appeared to begin over a fence dispute.
City of Welland bylaw officials had gone to the property as “an enormous fence” was blocking traffic sightlines, and bylaw had requested to be accompanied by police to “keep the peace,” he said earlier.
Grant Munday, Welland’s director of planning and development services, told CBC News in an email that the property owner had “put up a fence on a City Road allowance and was digging in the area where the city has water and sewer infrastructure, neither of which is permitted.”
“As this is an active police investigation, we are directing all questions to the Niagara regional police and will not be commenting or speculating on the cause of the incident,” city communications officer Marc MacDonald told CBC Hamilton.
The fence surrounds an old church converted into a residence, Hingley said. Shortly after officers arrived, a man inside shot at them.
One officer was hit, but was protected for the most part by body armour, Hingley said.
Niagara police’s emergency task unit, and Hamilton and Halton police remained on the scene at Second Street between Plymouth Road and Lincoln Street on Friday afternoon, “working to make the area safe,” Hingley said.
Police continued to advise residents in the area to “shelter in place immediately.”
“Lock all doors and windows, and remain inside until further notice,” police said on X. “Do not leave your residence unless directed by police.”
Ongoing Police Investigation – Please Avoid the Area <a href=”https://t.co/6hfM3IlGbd”>pic.twitter.com/6hfM3IlGbd</a>
No details about the officer who was shot have been released.
But speaking from Buffalo, N.Y., Ontario Premier Doug Ford told reporters he’d heard an officer was shot in Welland and said she is “a wonderful person.”
Ford said his “prayers and thoughts” are with her and her family, and police on both sides of the border.
“God bless her and pray everything’s going to work out. I’m very, very confident it will.”
Just after 11 a.m., Niagara police said officers had used their firearms “during the initial interaction” and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was notified.
The SIU confirmed it had invoked its mandate.
The police watchdog investigates incidents involving police and civilians that have resulted in serious injury, death or allegations of sexual assault.
Schools in lockdown included Plymouth Public School and St. Mary Catholic School, but police said at 2:24 p.m. that staff were evacuated from both schools.
District School Board of Niagara posted on X that no Plymouth staff could leave the school, and no students or staff were allowed in until the lockdown was lifted.
Plymouth students already on a bus in the morning were taken to Diamond Trail Public School, it said.
The Catholic school board was following the same lockdown procedures, it said on Facebook. Students already on the bus were dropped off at St. Andrew Catholic Elementary School, where parents could pick them up.
“We recognize that this is an unfortunate and inconvenient time of the day for this to be happening,” the school board said. “However, we support the police’s efforts to keep our students and staff safe, as their safety and well-being is our priority at all times.”
Police lifted the hold-and-secure at the Welland Hospital by 1:30 p.m.
They said access remains restricted due to road closures.
However, “surgeries and outpatient appointments at the Welland Hospital remain cancelled,” said Niagara Health in a social media post, and patients will be contacted to reschedule.
In the morning, Welland Hospital was accepting no new patients or allowing visitors inside, said Niagara Health on X.
People with appointments were asked to stay home and watch for updates.
