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Armed Iqaluit man, barricaded in home with children, faces multiple charges

Police say two children were kept barricaded inside an Iqaluit home for more than 10 hours by a man brandishing a gun Wednesday.

Iqaluit RCMP laid seven charges against Oolayou Shoo, 24, including assault, assault with a weapon, careless use of a firearm, unsafe storage of a firearm, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, pointing a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

The police responded to a domestic violence-related call in the 200-block area, where a man was inside a home with two children and refusing to surrender.

Mounties began a dialogue with the man but he responded by pointing a firearm through the window and demanding that the police leave the area, according to an RCMP news release.

The neighbourhood was closed off to the public and crisis negotiators spent 10 hours trying to conclude the ordeal. Finally, the man was arrested while trying to flee the residence on an all-terrain vehicle, the RCMP stated.

The two children inside the home were safely rescued.

The accused was due to appear in the Nunavut Court of Justice today.