Maria Canton
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jun 04/99) - A Yellowknife RCMP member was shot in the leg Tuesday during a 15-hour armed stand-off in Baker Lake.

Cpl. Mike Beaudoin, of the RCMP Emergency Response Team, was flown to Winnipeg from Baker Lake after he was hit with a bullet while assisting the Baker Lake RCMP in a complaint that originally began as a disturbance Monday night.

In the initial response, Baker Lake police were met with gun shots after trying to gain entry to the residence.

The area was vacated and Rankin Inlet RCMP and the Yellowknife RCMP Emergency Response Team were called in for assistance.

Shots were again fired when the male occupant appeared outside the house firing randomly at the surrounding 25 RCMP members.

Hours of unsuccessful negotiations led only to another spray of bullets being discharged by the man.

The gunman fired shots from inside the house, but through the walls one of the stray bullets hit Beaudoin in his left leg.

Further negations resulted in the gunman's surrender.

Cpl. Beaudoin was flown to Winnipeg and examined by the Health Sciences Centre trauma team -- bullet fragments were left in his thigh and calf.

"When a member is injured, you first want to know how serious and then you want the circumstances," said S/Sgt. Dave Grundy.

"He's not only a colleague, but a friend...you don't want to see anyone shot, regardless of what job they have."

Beaudoin returned to Yellowknife Wednesday and says he is "feeling good."

Remanded in custody and charged with three counts of attempted murder, one count each of uttering a death threat, uttering a bodily harm threat and possession of a firearm while prohibited, as well as three counts of endangering life with a firearm is 52-year-old James Maxwell, who is originally from Nova Scotia, but has lived in Baker Lake periodically for a number of years.