2 taken into custody after 8 1/2-hour standoff in North Central Regina

A tense afternoon in North Central stopped abruptly when a standoff was ended on Wednesday.

Regina police were called to 1111 McTavish St. around 6:30 a.m. about a suspicious man. The man was wanted by police in connection to a murder on the 1000 block of Princess Street, less than a block away.

Police say the man barricaded himself in the second floor of the home and wouldn’t come out. They also believed another person was inside the house.

Officers cordoned off the area and around 10 a.m., SWAT, crisis negotiators and the explosives disposal unit were called out. The barricade was expanded twice during the day; police were concerned the man inside had a weapon.

The area was extremely quiet throughout the day. Some neighbours gathered in clumps outside the barriers, watching the house. Others peeked out their windows and over fences, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on.

Some neighbours were scared. One woman, who said she’d just moved there from Alberta, was so concerned she took her family and left their home for the day to get away from the commotion.

Just across the street from the house is Seven Stone Community School. It’s spring break for students this week, so there were no classes, but the building also houses a daycare. The doors were locked, and an officer was inside, but parents were called and asked to pick up their children.

Chantelle arrived to get her kids around lunchtime.

“It’s a little scary that stuff like that’s happening by the daycare … we just moved into this neighbourhood, so it’s a little different, I guess, having this happen.”

Nadine watched what was happening for much of the day, and said she wasn’t too concerned.

“There’s been lots going on, and kind of interesting to watch it all go down. Some of our neighbours have kind of said they’re a little bit scared … but you keep your nose out of other people’s business, and it’s not really … doesn’t really worry us.”

Rhonda said things aren’t usually like that in the area.

“Things like this don’t normally happen here. You know, North Central’s an awesome place to live.”

Regina police said they spent a lot of time trying to make contact with the people in the house. In the afternoon, one officer went in and out of the front door a few times, and what looked to be a phone was passes back a forth from police to a upstairs window. A man peaked his head out of the same window a few times, seeming to speak with officers.

Just after 3 p.m. two loud bangs were heard, followed by another quieter bang. Shortly after, two people were removed from the home. Regina police said no shots were fired.

The two people were a 26-year-old woman, and a 34-year-old man. As of Wednesday evening, police didn’t know what charges, if any, would be laid. Police said they were still figuring out what role, if any, the man might have played in the murder.