KITCHENER -- A man has been arrested after police responded to the scene of a person barricaded in a Kitchener motel on Tuesday.
According to a tweet, officials responded to a motel in the area of Weber Street East and Kinzie Avenue. In an afternoon update, police added that they had gone to the motel after a vehicle of interest was identified there.
Officers had knocked on the door but a man inside, who was wanted on several warrants, refused to come out, telling officers that he had guns in the room.
Police said Tuesday afternoon that there was also a woman in the motel room.
The Emergency Response Unit was called, and were on scene negotiating with those inside from about 10 a.m. The situation was resolved after about four hours.
The accused, a 38-year-old man, was charged with the following:
- Five counts of fail to comply with release order
- Surety cancellation
- Drive disqualified
- Utters threats
- Assault with a weapon
A command post was set up in the area, officials said.
Police asked the public to avoid the area while they responded to the incident.
No schools in the area were impacted, officials said, as the risk to public safety was considered low.
People in the area said it's not unusual to see police around.
"You can see them sometimes come through here every hour or so, pulling and pulling out," said Dan Pasnyk with Emil's Auto Body.
Pasnyk said he's worked across the street from the motel for decades and is used to seeing police cars.
"It's just an every day thing, you don't even pay attention to it any more," he said.
The owners of the motel declined to speak on-camera, but one told CTV News he hopes what happened on Tuesday doesn't happen to any other business owner.
