Police response to a male with a firearm, inside a residence on Wheatly Bay, resulted in several hours of investigation and negotiation on Thursday, June 24th. The potential threat to the surrounding area also prompted three nearby elementary schools to enact their “secure-the-building” protocol, with the help of their School Resource Officers. “Secure the building” means there is believed to be a threat outside the school building(s), so outside doors are locked, dismissal of students is staged and controlled, and students who usually walk to and from school are picked up by parents and/or caregivers. At the conclusion of the call, a 34 year-old male was taken safely into custody. He is now facing charges.
This investigation began at 2:06 p.m., on Thursday, June 24, 2021, when police were dispatched to the 6600 block of Wheatly Bay. It was alleged a man in a residence assaulted an adult female and pointed a firearm at an adult male. The two victims left the house and contacted police, but another adult female remained in the house. The suspect and the victims are known to each other. As patrol members established a safety perimeter and attempted to negotiate the suspect out of the house, there was a related precautionary measure of placing three elementary schools in “secure-the-building” mode (described above). Investigators learned the suspect male was on an undertaking not to possess any firearms or ammunition. By early evening, the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, as well as Crisis Negotiators were authorized to help resolve the incident. A 34 year-old male was taken into custody without incident at approximately 6:30 p.m. Police cleared the house to ensure there were no other suspects or injured persons. A search warrant led to the recovery of the firearm, which was a handgun/air pistol. No one was injured in the incident.
Thirty-four year-old Robert Martin SPENCER, of Indian Head, is charged with:
– Assault with a Weapon, s. 267(a) CC;
– Pointing a Firearm, s. 87 CC;
– Breach of Undertaking, s. 145(4)(a) CC; and
– Assault (level 1), s. 266 CC.
SPENCER made his first court appearance on these charges before Provincial Court at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, June 25, 2021.
