RCMP end emergency alert for Bible Hill area after suspect taken into custody

RCMP say a suspect that was the subject of an emergency alert issued Friday morning for the Bible Hill, N.S., area is in custody.

Police made the announcement on Friday at 9:20 a.m. AT on X, the site formerly known as Twitter.

In an emergency alert issued at 9 a.m., RCMP warned of a "dangerous man with firearm." They saidthe suspect was on foot and urged residents to lock their doors and windows.

The roads around Hillcrest Avenue were closed to allow officers from RCMP and the Truro Police Service to respond to the situation, said RCMP Const.Dominic Laflamme.

Laflamme later said that a 39-year-old man is in custody and facing several charges, including weapons offences.

Laflamme said the man was arrested by Truro police, who turned him over to the RCMP. The man was unarmed when he was arrested, according to Laflamme, but police have since seized a rifle and a knife.

Laflamme said no shots were fired and no one was injured. He said the initial complaint came from someone who knows the suspect.

The incident came during the fourth anniversary of a deadly shooting rampage in Nova Scotia that claimed 22 lives. Those killings happened near where Friday's alert was issued.

"We certainly understand the distress and probably panic that this incident must have caused, especially in Colchester County and across all Nova Scotia,especially on that date," Laflamme said.

"We do acknowledge that.It is very unfortunate. But I thinktoday, it is a good example of how quickly the members reacted, including all the partners, all the [detachments] and how quick the alert was drafted and sent."