A suspect was injured Thursday after a Mountie fired his weapon while answering a call about a man wielding an ax and making threats in Upper Malagash, NS.
The Cumberland District RCMP said in a press release that the suspect had been arrested and taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The matter was referred to the province’s Serious Incident Response Team, an independent oversight agency that investigates serious incidents involving police in Nova Scotia.
The RCMP said they were called to a house around 7:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 6 and said a gunman was threatening people he knew.
The SIRT confirmed that it is investigating the incident and added details that it said came from the agency and the RCMP.
He said the suspect was holding an ax when officers located him in the back of the house.
One of the responding officers deployed a power-driven weapon, or a stun gun, “which was ineffective,” SIRT said.
The agency said the same agent later fired his gun and hit the suspect in the leg.
No one else was injured in the incident.
The RCMP said it could not give further details about the incident while it is under police investigation.
The RCMP statement stated that “there is no need to report any crime” for SIRT to investigate.
The SIRT has three months to submit a public report on the incident once its investigation is completed.