RCMP officers will maintain a presence in Ditidaht First Nation in the coming days following a death and an arrest.
Ditidaht chief councillor Judi Thomas issued a statement asking members of the Ditidaht First Nation to stay indoors and keep their windows closed on Saturday morning as RCMP officers mobilized into the community.
RCMP media spokesperson Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said in a statement that Lake Cowichan RCMP were called to a residence on Ditidaht First Nations at 7 a.m. Saturday where officers found a deceased man.
Other units, including the Emergency Response Team, were called to assist “due to the situation at hand,” the statement said.
The team is generally deployed for serious crime arrest warrants, hostage rescue and evacuations, protective duties, penetrating blockades and strongholds, as well as responses to barricaded, armed subjects.
An adult man was later arrested without further incident with help from the Emergency Response Team, she said.
Saunderson initially said on Saturday police were on scene near Lake Cowichan for a “situation allegedly involving a weapon.”
Police believe that it was an isolated incident and that there is no further risk to the public.
The Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit has been called in to investigate the death.
Just before 2:30 p.m., Ditidaht chief councillor Judi Thomas issued a statement saying that RCMP had the situation “under control” but will continue to remain in the community in the coming days.
Thomas said the families involved in the incident are asking for “gentleness and kindness as we seek the the truth, together as one.”
No names of those involved are currently being released, Thomas said.
“Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones affected during this incredibly difficult time,” she said.
Nation members were invited to gather at their community hall near Nitinaht Lake for an evening meal on Saturday.
Thomas said community health support services will be available from various agencies, including Tsow-tun-le-lum, First Nations Health Authority and the Nuu-Chah-Nulth tribal council in the coming days.
The nation’s visitor centre and store near Nitinaht Lake was closed Saturday.
An annual general meeting for the nation that was supposed to be held in Port Alberni on Saturday was cancelled.
