Man hospitalized, 1 in custody following lockdown in Seabird Island Monday

SEABIRD ISLAND — A spokesperson for the Agassiz RCMP detachment says a man has been hospitalized, and another has been taken into custody, after police responded to a report of an assault involving a possible weapon on Seabird Island First Nation Monday.

According to a statement from the RCMP, Agassiz RCMP frontline members were dispatched at about 10 a.m. Monday (Dec. 16) to Seabird Island FN where they located a man who had been physically assaulted and suffered what they called serious injuries. The man was attended to by B.C. Emergency Health Services paramedics and transported to hospital by ambulance.

Police say responding frontline officers quickly identified a male suspect. It was reported to authorities that the suspect had fled on foot and was believed to be carrying an unidentified weapon.

For the safety of the public, the community was put into a shelter in place, impacting three schools and the Seabird Island band office. Those three impacted schools included the elementary, high school and college.