RCMP charge western P.E.I. man with forcible confinement

A man from western P.E.I.is facing charges including forcible confinement and assault after police were called about a woman being held at gunpoint inside a home Monday night.

The caller told police her daughter was being held against her will by a man reported to have a gun, the P.E.I. RCMP said in a news release. When police got to the home in St.Raphael the man and woman were gone,andofficers found a pellet gun in the driveway.

Police learned the man and woman had gone to another home in the area. When officers got there, the two people fled the area in a vehicle, RCMP said.

Police followed them to Ferry Road in Central Lot 16, about 12 kilometres northwest ofSt.Raphael, where the man and woman got out of the vehicle and ran along the beach, eventually breaking into a nearby cottage nearby, the force said.

RCMP called in a crisis negotiator, a police dog team and officers from nearby departments to help.They also used a drone to surveythe scene.

It's not a common occurrence, but we are equipped to handle it. P.E.I. RCMP Sgt. Shaun Cody

The suspect eventually surrendered without further incident, police said.The woman suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

"Anytime you have a person that's been confined in a rural area it requires a large police response," said Sgt. Shaun Coady with the P.E.I.RCMP.

"It's not a common occurrence, but we are equipped to handle it."

Coady said officers train for this kind of situation, and debrief afterwards to see if there are ways they could have done it better.

"The members that were deployed are highly specialized in the particular fields."

In addition to forcible confinement and assault, the 31-year-old Wellington manfaces charges includingweapons offences, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, break and enter, and flight from police.

He appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.