Kamloops Hostage Taking Ends Tragically
Friday, May 18, 2012 @ 10:38 AM
Kamloops, B.C. – A 48-year-old Surrey man is unaccounted for and is presumed dead after a tense 6 ½ hour standoff ended with two load explosions and a Cannel Dr. home reduced to smoldering rubble.
The incident began at 5:20 pm last evening, with a call from a neighbor in the 1400 block of Cannel Dr. who reported seeing a man with long barrel fire arm enter the home. The suspect was the estranged boyfriend of a 44-year-old woman who was in the house with her current boyfriend and 4 children, two boys aged 11 and 9, and two girls 13 and 8 years.
Shortly after entering the house, the suspect fired a shot into the ceiling of the home and told all but his former girlfriend to leave the house. The new boyfriend grabbed the three children closest and fled out the front door while the other child fled to a bedroom and escaped by climbing out a window.
Eight police cars responded to the scene and quickly set up a perimeter, evacuated 15 homes in the immediate vicinity and began efforts to contact the suspect inside. Phone contact was established around 7:10 pm. Negotiators learned that the man was still distraught over the break up with his former girlfriend two years earlier. Also during the conversation, the man told police that he had explosives wired to his body, that explosives were in the residence, that an explosive device was wired to the gas tank of his vehicle and that there was a second bomb in the car. The suspect, who is an electrician by trade, provided specific details to the negotiator regarding how the explosives were wired and how he would be able to detonate the devices remotely.
Negotiations continued in an effort to end the standoff peacefully. At midnight, the woman was released from the house unharmed and was immediately taken to the RCMP office. The suspect continued to speak with the negotiator but ten minutes after the woman had been released, the telephone line went silent. Officers on the scene heard two rapid explosions erupt from within the house and a smoke detector alarm was set off. The fire that was caused by the explosions began to spread and fire fighters were called to the scene. Fire crews staged close to the residence but could not approach the house directly due to the imminent risk posed by the reported presence of a bomb in the suspects van. As the fire continued to spread, a third explosion from inside the house rattled the neighborhood.
As the heat and flame intensified, two RCMP bomb squad members ran to the suspect’s van to assess the threat of the reported explosive devices. Through the windows of the vehicle they could see a series of wires leading from a switch attached to the driver’s door and one set of wires attached to a metal pipe bomb on the vehicle consol. In the back, they could see a five gallon gas can and a 20 lb. propane cylinder. The pipe bomb could not be safely neutralized in the vehicle which was parked meters away from burning home.
With the explosive device still live and susceptible to detonation, Kamloops Fire Fighters could only be brought to the edge of the 100 meter safe zone that had to be maintained because of the concussive and fragmentation danger posed by the explosive device and flammable material found in vehicle. Despite these extreme challenges, Kamloops Fire Rescue fought the house fire from a distance while concurrently pouring water on the van in an effort to keep it cool. They were successful in suppressing the blaze before it spread to the surrounding homes and into the green belt behind the residence. The victim’s home was completely destroyed.
Once the fire scene was stabilized, the bomb squad officers used a robot to safely remove and neutralize the explosive device. Technicians from the Explosive Demolition Unit (EDU) indicated that , if the pipe bomb had exploded, there would likely have been fatalities and serious injuries for anyone in the immediate area. As of 5:00 a.m. this morning, the EDU Technicians had safely neutralized the pipe bomb inside the vehicle and were preparing to remove and make safe a second similar bomb found attached to the underside of the vehicle.
Police are still on the scene and have cordoned off the area around the house which is now being treated as a crime scene. Investigators will start the arduous task of sifting through the rubble looking for the remains of the suspect and other evidence related to the explosions from within the house.
No names are being released.
Comments
After 2 years, should of moved on with his life. No sympathy to his loss of life (to his family yes). For the family living there, hope they recover from this disastor.
May I suggest this would have been a “tragic” ending had innocent people been killed. However, this guy went there, wired himself, the house and his vehicle for the express purpose of blowing them up and killing. The fact he took only himself out, to me, is not tragic. seeya, bye. None of my tax dollars going to house and feed you behind bars.
Same as the utter nonsense with the guy who chopped the other guy’s head off on the Greyhound bus. The killer is now getting day passes to walk around town in Selkirk, Manitoba. Great. I’m sure the residents feel secure.
Wow. This guy was serious about his duties to make a living hell to this family and her neighbours. He was horribly sick and should have sought help
wowsers!
A poignant reminder that these sorts of threats always have to be dealt with with the ought most seriousness and caution.
Thankfully none of the family, neighbours, nor any of the police or emergency crews there to help were hurt in this incident. It’s unfortunate a more peaceful resolution could not be reached.
It is tragic. The victim lost her house, and probably her ability to ever sleep through the night again. I hope she, and her children, get counseling. At least the suspect will not be scaring them anymore.
To sum things up, jealousy and bitterness BIG TIME!!!!
To every Police, Fire, Rescue service member involved, Thank You!
“Wow. This guy was serious about his duties to make a living hell to this family and her neighbours. He was horribly sick and should have sought help”
Hang on a sec. What would drive someone to do this? Maybe she took everything including the kid’s. Do you folks know anyone that has been divorced and the womem basically destroys the man? There is always two sides to a story. Yes this is very extreme but so it taking your own life. He just chose to go out with a bang. No pun intended.
I don’t care how hard the guy’s life might have been. There is no excuse for this, inflicting trauma on as many people as possible.
If he wanted to go out with a bang, he could have driven out into the woods and done it out of sight of everyone. It would have been preferred.
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