A man is facing charges in connection with a double murder on a First Nation northwest of Fort St. John.
Orlan Marcel Dennis is facing two counts of second degree murder, after two bodies were found in a home in Tsay Keh Dene, near the north tip of Williston Lake.
The incident unfolded over several hours from Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.
Local RCMP received a report of shots fired in a home “with injuries to multiple people,” and arrived at the scene around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the B.C. RCMP explained in a news release issued Wednesday afternoon.
Mounties reportedly found a man with a firearm, who then ran to another residence nearby.
Police then “set up containment” and called in the North District Critical Incident Program, which includes members of the Emergency Response and Crisis Negotiator teams.
Mounties said negotiations with the suspect began just after midnight Wednesday.
“Following several hours of negotiations, the North District Emergency Response Team and supporting elements deployed and arrived at approximately 5:40 a.m.,” the release reads. “Negotiations deteriorated, resulting in ERT deploying a chemical irritant into the residence.”
The man reportedly emerged from the home with a firearm, and officers shot “an extended range impact munition and their firearms, striking him.”
He was taken to hospital with injuries police describe as serious, but non-life-threatening.
The Independent Investigations Office of B.C. will be looking into the police shooting.
The IIO said it will “seek to confirm the details leading up to and during the interaction with police, as well as whether any force used was necessary, proportionate and justified under the circumstances.”
Mounties say Dennis will remain in police custody pending his next court appearance.
With files from Kaija Jussinoja Reporter, CTVNewsVancouver.ca
