Halton Regional Police have asked a number of residents to shelter in place as they continue to investigate an ongoing situation in Oakville. As Erica Vella reports, police say two people were barricaded inside a home.
Crisis negotiators are in contact with an individual who has been barricaded inside an Oakville home for more than two hours, police say.
Halton police were dispatched to the Lakeshore Road West and 4th Line area at around 1:20 p.m. after receiving a call regarding the sounds of gunshots in the vicinity of a residence.
Const. Ryan Anderson said that there were initially two people “barricaded” inside the residence but one of them has since come out.
“I can confirm that they (crisis negotiators) have been in contact with the person who is in the home,” he told reporters. “Everybody is doing all they can to ensure this comes to a peaceful resolution for everybody involved. At this point we don’t have any indication that anybody has been injured and it is our hope that that continues to be the case.”
Anderson said that the situation is contained to the residence and that there is “no larger threat to the community at this point.”
Police, however, are continuing to urge residents in the immediate area to seek shelter in their basements.
Nearby Appleby College has also been placed under a hold and secure order.
“The safety of the public is paramount to us and that is why one of the first thing officers on scene did was contact anyone who may be in the area and ask them to shelter in place and head to their basements,” Anderson said.
At this point police have not been able to confirm whether there was in fact a shooting in the area or whether the individual barricaded inside the home is armed.
There is a heavy officer presence in this area, including frontline officers, a tactical rescue unit, and K9.
