Police use kayaks to catch suspect as Summerside residents shelter in place
Mitchell Thomas Lannigan, 28, arrested after large police operation early Wednesday morning
A 28-year-old man who police warned was armed, dangerous and on the loose in Summerside, P.E.I., Wednesday morning is now in police custody.
Police issued a public alert just after 8:30 a.m. warning people in the Prince County city that Mitchell Thomas Lannigan was believed to armed and dangerous, and urging residents to shelter in place. Lannigan was arrested on the water roughly an hour after the public alert was issued.
The incident started over the weekend, when police allege Lannigan fired shots from a handgun in a parking lot in Miminegash. RCMP issued a warrant for Lannigan's arrest and shut down a road in the area while they tried to find him, but he remained at large.
Cpl. Gavin Moore, the P.E.I. RCMP's media relations officer, said Lannigan wasn't believed to be a threat to the public at that time
"The initial information that we received was with regards to specific individuals and a specific conflict and we had no information that that conflict extended to anybody else beyond those people involved," Moore said Wednesday afternoon.
"Clearly situations change, situations evolve, and when you see a situation has evolved to a second use of a firearm… this is now a situation where someone… is doing behaviours that are of concern to all Islanders."
The situation changed early Wednesday morning when police allege Lannigan shot and killed a dog at a residence in Tyne Valley. Lannigan wasn't seen again until he was spotted in Summerside later that morning, prompting police in that city to issue a shelter-in-place order while they tried to find him.
"We knew based on the two previous investigations being conducted by the RCMP that we could confirm that the suspect was in possession of firearms and that the firearms had been discharged," said Summerside police Chief Jason Blacquiere.
"Within the city of Summerside we were able to narrow his location down to a specific geographic area and so we felt it was appropriate at that time to issue the public alert to have people shelter in place while we located the suspect."
Suspect arrested
Dozens of Summerside police and RCMP officers were seen combing the city with their weapons drawn. Streets in multiple locations were blocked off, and police checkpoints were set up to stop vehicles leaving the city.
That all came to an end just before 10 a.m. AT, when police issued another alert saying they had arrested Lannigan.
Witnesses told CBC News they saw a man go into a neighbour's yard, take a kayak and enter the water nearby. Moore said two RCMP officers who were the first to arrive on scene borrowed two other kayaks and headed out to retrieve Lannigan.
"The two officers were able to paddle out and make the arrest on the water," Moore said.
Lannigan is already facing charges of assault, possession of a handgun, possession of a handgun while prohibited, two counts of pointing a firearm, use of a firearm in a careless manner, and breach of a probation order in connection with the incident in Miminegash over the weekend.
Moore said RCMP didn't issue a public alert over that incident because there wasn't believed to be any imminent risk to the public, they didn't know where Lannigan was, and police had no specific instructions to help protect the public.
"Had the circumstances been different where we had additional threats or more information, then perhaps there would have been other information shared," Moore said. "But it's important that these tools are used when the criteria is met, and if we use them in other situations then they lose their power and effectiveness to inform the public."
RCMP say a handgun was seized as part of the investigation, and it's not yet clear what — if any — new charges Lannigan may face after Wednesday's events.
"The Joint Forces Operations Unit… are working together on this investigation and all of the various pieces of what had gone on today are all being examined by that unit so that there's some consistency there," Moore said. "They will look to see what other charges may be appropriate."
With files from Nicola MacLeod