On June 23, 2003, police in Whapmagoostui were alerted to a disturbance involving a young man and women, who were intoxicated. The young man was carrying a rifle and police soon set up a security perimeter, effectively shutting out residents in the restricted area near the young man’s home. Four hours later, he left for the hills behind his home. Police, having reportedly had confrontations with this man two years earlier in a similar incident and it involved a shootout, so chances were taken by the Whapmagoostui Police Force and the Kativik Regional Police Force.
Swat teams from Rouyn Noranda and Montreal, both of the Surete Quebec were flown in along with another investigation team. The young man eluded the police later in the day and was holed up in another residential 6 unit apartment building on the other side of town in Kuujjuarapik. There the townsfolk viewed the standoff with ah air festivity and spectacle, while rap music blared out from a neighboring rooftop. The only problem was related to the inconvenience of not being able to leave or enter their homes due to the security perimeter setup by local residents immediately affected by the standoff.
The SWAT teams successfully talked the young man into surrendering after a few minutes of negotiating and the situation was resolved early in the evening. At no time were the residents of Whapmagoostui and Kuujjuarapik in any danger. At this time, the name of the suspect has not been released nor details of charges laid.
