Regina man charged after early-morning standoff

A 34-year-old man is facing charges after a standoff that sent a Regina high school into “secure the building mode” early Wednesday.

According to Regina police, the incident started Tuesday at about 6 p.m. Police said the communications centre got a call from a man who claimed he’d just been threatened with a gun as he attempted to tow a vehicle in the 800 block of Edgar Street.

The caller told police the suspect who threatened him got into the vehicle with another man and a woman and took off.

Police said their investigation led to a residence in the 3800 block of Regina Avenue at about 12:40 a.m., when patrol officers, plainclothes investigators and members of the canine unit arrived at the scene.

“The male suspect initially refused to exit the residence and members of the RPS Crisis Negotiation Team and SWAT Team were called in to assist,” the police release said.

Police said a nearby high school was put into “secure the building mode.” The school wasn’t identified in the release, but Sheldon-Williams Collegiate is in that area.

At around 7 a.m., the man finally left the residence and was taken into custody, police said. He was charged with assault with a weapon, use of an imitation firearm in the commission of an offence, and breach of probation.

He’s to make his first court appearance Thursday.