Male suspect in custody after standoff, person held hostage in Thunder Bay: police
Woman was escorted from scene by officers Friday morning
A male suspect is in custody after a standoff with police in the north side of Thunder Bay, police said.
Officers were dispatched to the 100 block section of Cumberland Street North around 8:30 a.m. on Friday after receiving reports of a weapons incident, Thunder Bay police said in a Facebook post.
Police contained the area and "a standoff ensued," the post says.
"An individual that had been held hostage with the suspect was able to exit the location earlier in the day," police said in the post.
Police escorted a woman out of the building around 11:15 a.m. on Friday.
The suspect was taken into custody on Friday night, police say.
Police say there will likely be a visible police presence in the area on Saturday.
Nearby businesses lock down on Friday
Several businesses in the area temporarily closed on Friday, including the McDonald's restaurant and the Bodymind Centre.
"I was in the middle of teaching classes and my manager came in and said that there was police presence outside, guns drawn, and that they had asked us to lock down the business and ask no one to leave or no new people to come in," said Monica Czapla, a yoga and Pilates instructor at the Bodymind Centre.
Staff began to shelter in place and all morning classes have been cancelled, she said.
Czapla said staff were waiting to hear further instructions from police.
"It's actually kind of frightening because we don't know what's happening. We're just kind of speculating on what's going on. But when you've got a ton of police outside and everyone's got their guns drawn, it's an eerie feeling."
Police have not confirmed with CBC the details of the incident or their response.