On Thursday, October 26th, 2023, around 4:30 p.m., the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP responded to a report of a suicidal man armed with a firearm near Mabel Lake east of Enderby.
The man’s family called 911 and told police he was intoxicated, wanted to commit suicide, and had barricaded himself with a firearm inside his residence in the 2800-block of Mabel Lake Road.
Given the heightened risk, the RCMP’s Southeast District Critical Incident Program was engaged and members of the Emergency Response Team and an RCMP crisis negotiator were deployed to the location.
At approximately 9:45 p.m., the situation ended safely when the man surrendered to police without incident and was apprehended under the Mental Health Act. He was transported to hospital for assessment and care and potentially faces a number of charges for firearms related offences in relation to the incident.