5 in custody after incident on Sask. First Nation

An incident in Big Island Lake Cree Nation was resolved peacefully and five suspects are now in custody.

Members from the Pierceland RCMP detachment arrived at a residence on the First Nation at roughly 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. Due to the proximity of the house to the local school, classes were cancelled for the day.

With all suspects in custody, police were off the scene by 2 p.m.

Multiple witnesses said the residents of the house in question were suspected of having criminal ties and possibly involved in gang activity.

Pierceland RCMP detachment commander, Sgt. Curtis Pelzer, couldn’t confirm any gang activity at this time.

“What I can say is we received a complaint where firearms may have been present and of course when firearms are present we have to take every precaution in our response so that’s why there was such a large response,” Pelzer said.

While five people remain in custody, Pelzer said it doesn’t necessarily mean all will face charges.

“We have some people in custody and they will remain there until we verify exactly what occurred,” he said.

In the takedown, Pierceland RCMP received assistance from Onion Lake, Loon Lake, Meadow Lake, Spiritwood, Big River, Ile-a-La-Crosse and other northwest detachments.

A group of children was led away from the home during the investigation.

Pelzer added more information will be made available in the coming days.