Tuktoyaktuk (Feb 26/03) - One man was shot and killed and another was taken to hospital after a standoff earlier this week.

It all started just after 8 p.m. Monday when police responded to reports of gunfire.

When they arrived on the scene, police found one man staggering through the snow and another dead in the street.

RCMP said a man had barricaded himself and two small children, aged three and 14 months, inside a house.

Tuktoyaktuk RCMP called for reinforcements from Inuvik and Yellowknife. About 15 officers, including a negotiator and the Emergency Response Team, flew to the Beaufort Delta hamlet.

Sgt. Marion Lamothe, head of the RCMP "G" Division's major crimes unit in Yellowknife, said negotiations with the male suspect began early Tuesday morning and ended when he gave himself up at about 10 a.m.

Lamothe said the suspect, a former RCMP officer, is in custody at the Tuktoyaktuk detachment. Charges had not been laid as of Tuesday evening.

The children were unharmed. They are now in the custody of the Department of Health and Social Services.

Lamothe said alcohol "was definitely a factor." The number of shots fired has not been confirmed. One of the victims is believed to be related to the suspect.

"We have different accounts of a different amount of shots. We're not sure. We're still trying to piece it all together," said Lamothe.

Tuktoyaktuk Mayor Eddie Dillon said the community is struggling to come to grips with the incident.

"Any time it happens it's always gut-wrenching for a community," he said. "This community is small and everybody, somewhere along, is related. Everybody feels it when something goes wrong, and this is no exception to the case."

The identity of the dead man will not be released until all family members are notified.