Police said Surrey resident Ranjit Singh Sandhu has been charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. Sandhu, who police said is known to them and has a history of mental illness, remains in police custody. He appeared in court Friday.
VANCOUVER – A 27-year-old unstable Indo-Canadian man has been charged with weapons-related charges after an armed standoff at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver Monday.
According to Police, Surrey resident Ranjit Singh Sandhu has been charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon. He was apparently out on bail at the time of the incident, reported CTV News.
Sandhu apparently walked into the Fairmont Pacific Rim with a handgun on Monday. VPD officers locked down the building and the surrounding area for most of the day. The standoff ended when police shot him in the leg with an ARWEN gun.
The 10-hour standoff concluded without serious injuries after police fired a flash-bang device to distract the gunman before shooting him with a plastic bullet. He was hospitalized with a minor leg injury.
The gunman, who took no hostages and demanded only water throughout the standoff, entered the building at about 2:30 a.m.
Police locked down the hotel and a large part of the surrounding area for more than 10 hours as negotiators dealt with the man. Police said they were primarily concerned he was making threats to his own life.
Hotel guests were evacuated after the man was contained to a public area. Police negotiators were sent and the man was arrested at around 12:15 p.m.
Sandhu, who police said is known to them and has a history of mental illness, remains in police custody. He appeared in court Friday and his custody was extended.
Mounties have confirmed Sandhu is the same person charged of crashing a pick-up truck into the front entrance of Royal Columbian Hospital in September.
Why was Sandhu allowed out on bail given his mental condition, raising questions about whether the entire confrontation could have been avoided.
Sandhu was arrested over a month before the standoff when he allegedly smashed his truck into the Royal Columbian Hospital emergency room on Sept. 9.
Two people were injured in the crash, which caused thousands of dollars in damage. The New Westminster hospital’s broken glass doors have since been replaced with plywood.
Sandhu was charged, but released from custody on a number of conditions – despite his history of mental illness. Court documents reveal two previous breaches of bail conditions and one driving while prohibited offence for a man with the same name and age.
Among the conditions imposed on Sandhu in September were orders to take his psychiatric medication and stay away from alcohol. But Jim O’Rourke, who works at the Vision Quest recovery house in Surrey, says judges need to force stricter conditions on mentally ill suspects.
He suggested a warning that they will be committed if they fail to take their medication.
“[Tell them] if you don’t take your meds, we’re going to put you in a hospital,” O’Rourke said. “They’re ordered to take these meds because that balances them out and gives them some fighting chance to make a good decision.”
It’s unclear whether Sandhu was on his medication at the time of the standoff, but documents filed in court Tuesday allege he had broken his condition not to drink alcohol the night before.
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