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'Armed and barricaded male' leads to RCMP blockading Yellowknife street Tuesday

Police say they partially blocked traffic to 51A Avenue in downtown Yellowknife 'in the interest of public safety.'

Police say they partially closed 51A Avenue to traffic 'in the interest of public safety'

An RCMP vehicle bocks 51A Avenue in Yellowknife at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Police say they were responding to an 'armed and barricaded male.' (Priscilla Hwang/CBC)

Yellowknife RCMP blocked traffic to a residential street downtown on Tuesday while responding to an "armed and barricaded male."

In a Wednesday press release, Yellowknife RCMP say they received multiple complaints about a disturbance related to an apartment building downtown. They say they partially closed 51A Avenue "in the interest of public safety."

Multiple law enforcement and emergency response teams attended as the incident unfolded, says the release, including the RCMP's Yellowknife General Investigation Section, Critical Incident Command team, Crisis Negotiation team, Police Dog Services and Emergency Response Team. Yellowknife Municipal Enforcement and Fire Divisions also responded. 

Around midnight, after several hours at the scene, police say they set off "diversion devices" that created loud bangs. They say this led them to take an adult male into custody "without incident."

Police say no one was injured during the incident and they believe the public wasn't at risk at the time. 

They say their investigation is ongoing and that they aren't releasing any more information right now.