Five people were arrested in Merritt last night after the RCMP surrounded a home on Bann Street.
Police say they were tipped off that a couple had been involved in at least two assaults recently, one of which was believed to have been committed with a firearm.
The RCMP Emergency Response Team was called in from the Lower Mainland because of the nature of the information police had as well as the criminal record of the male suspect.
Police say they seized replica hand guns, a shot gun with a homemade silencer, a large amount of ammunition, as well as some drugs, though they did not specify what or the amount.
The investigation is in the early stages, but charges against three people who were arrested are being considered at this time.
Video of the incident showed that police needed loudspeakers and a concussion grenade, as the police cruisers and a police helicopter circled the home at 1601 Bann Street.
Sheldon Quewezance lives across the street, and told NL News that he saw four people hauled out of the home in handcuffs.
“In the video you see the police calling for the tenants to come out with their hands up, unarmed,” he said. “I took probably ten minutes before they actually brought them out and it wasn’t just one guy. There was two men that were brought out in handcuffs, and two women.”
More to come.
(Photo: Facebook, Sheldon Quewezance)