Standoff at Regina home ends with 2 in custody

A man and a woman are in custody following a day-long standoff in Regina's North Central neighbourhood.

The drama began when policesurrounded the home,on the 1100 block McTavish Street, around 6:30 a.m. CST, responding to a report of a person who was barricaded in a house and refused to come out.

Police said they believed the suspect was armed and was not alone.

According to police spokeswoman Elizabeth Popowich, when the suspect continued to refuse police directives, they dispatched members of the SWAT team as well as a crisis negotiator and their explosives disposal unit.

Popowich said that move was authorized around 10 a.m. She added that the explosives disposal unit was involved not because of any concern about explosives, but because that unit has a remote-controlled robot that could deliver a mobile phone.

Later in the day, around 3 p.m., two loud bangs were heard coming from inside the home. Shortly after that, two people were seen being led from the home by police.

When the loud bangs took place, some windows of the home burst, although Popowich said no shots were fired during the standoff.

After the two were led out, the scene appeared quiet, but there wasa continued police presence.

Popowich said a man, 32, and a woman, 26, were the subjects of an ongoing investigation.

"The investigation has to continue to determine what roles, if any, they have in this," she said.

Police later confirmed that the incident was over and traffic in the area was back to normal.

They noted that no one was hurt and their investigation was ongoing.

Princess Street homicide

Popowich added that there is a connection between Wednesday's standoff and a homicide that was reported on Tuesday.

The day before, a 56-year-old man, Andre Josephe Aubertin, was found injured in a home on the 1000 block of Princess Street around 11 a.m. He was pronounced dead in hospital. A 27-year-old Fort Qu'Appelle man has been charged with second-degree murder inthe case.

Popowich said the male suspect who was arrested after the standoff has a connection to the homicide, although she did not elaborate on the connection.

"We still have a long way to go in the investigation," she said.

The two homes involved, on Princess Street and McTavish Street, are just a few hundred metres away.