Police standoff in Port Coquitlam ends with one man dead

PORT COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – The province’s police watchdog is investigating after reports of a distraught man threatening to harm himself ended in his death outside his Port Coquitlam home on Sunday night.

Heavily-armed police officers deployed smoke and flash grenades during the standoff in a normally-quiet Port Coquitlam neighbourhood Sunday evening.

The situation ended with the death of the suspect, who appears to have shot himself, according to Coquitlam RCMP.

Nobody else was injured.

Marten Youssef with the Independent Investigation Office of BC says it’s not clear yet how the man died.

“The IIO’s investigation is focused on determining whether the male’s injuries are self-inflicted or from the police –including whether police actions were lawful, proportionate and reasonable.”

Police were first called to the corner of Audrey Drive and Western Drive just after 7 p.m. for reports that a distraught man with a gun was firing into the air.

NEWS 1130 spoke to a neighbour, who describes what sounded like two gunshots, followed by “another ‘bang’ sound that almost sounded to me like glass going through a window. Saw some RCMP officers with weapons drawn. It went on for a couple hours; pretty intense.

“It’s a very quiet neighbourhood normally, so yeah. It’s pretty scary,” she adds.

Soon after the RCMP arrived, the armed suspect was found outside. Police claim shots were fired, and the man was later found dead behind a vehicle with what is thought to be a self-inflicted injury.

Police tape was still up around the scene Monday morning.

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