A man at the centre of an armed standoff in London, Ont., is accused of fatally stabbing a man he knew before shooting and injuring two officers at an apartment building over the weekend, police said Monday.
Police said the suspect didn't have a licence to own a long gun recovered at an apartment unit where the standoff took place.
Acting Police Chief Trish McIntyre said one of the officers who was shot remained in hospital Monday with serious but non-life-threatening injuries while the other had been released.
"I cannot adequately express to you what it is like to receive a call that an officer has been injured in the line of duty, much less two officers who very well could been more seriously injured to killed in this incident," McIntyre said at a news conference.
"My first thoughts went not only to our officers and their injuries but to their families whom I knew would be receiving the same news."
Police have said they first responded to a call about an unresponsive man in the hallway of an apartment building around 5 a.m. Saturday. They found a man with "multiple" stab wounds who was pronounced dead a short time later, McIntyre said.
Officers then worked to "contain" a unit in the building where the suspect had taken shelter, and evacuated some nearby units in the building, McIntyre said.
The suspect barricaded himself inside an apartment and refused to turn himself over to police who were negotiating with him, McIntyre said.
"At approximately 7:30 p.m., as our emergency response unit maintained close containment on the apartment, the suspect discharged a firearm striking two of our officers," she said, adding that both officers were injured by the same gunshot.
Police didn't shoot their firearms or use any other lethal methods while responding to the stabbing or the shooting, McIntyre said.
Negotiations with the suspect lasted for roughly 12 hours before the standoff ended, police said.
A 42-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death, and with two counts of attempted murder in the shooting of the officers.
The stabbing victim, identified as 41-year-old Joel Cameron of London, and the suspect in the case were known to each other, police said, although they did not provide further details.
The suspect is in custody and is next set to appear in court on March 20, police said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2023.
Sharif Hassan, The Canadian Press
