Man killed by RCMP in Hall Beach
Thirty-nine year old had broadcast wish to die by police on social media
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Monday, May 8, 2017
SANIRAJAK/HALL BEACH
A 39-year-old man in Hall Beach who broadcast online his desire to die by police has been shot by RCMP officers who responded to the post.
Police in the hamlet of 848 were called at 11:30 p.m. on May 1 about a man broadcasting on social media "wanting to die by police," according to an RCMP news release.
Nunavut News/North did not see the video. According to another media outlet, the man's video lasted 22 minutes from inside a home and ended before police arrived.
"Suicide motherf--kers!" he yells, according to the media report. "This is how you do it. Suicide by cops."
Officers went to a home in the community where the man was holding a firearm "in a threatening manner," police stated.
After police attempted to deescalate the situation and negotiate with him, the man was shot.
It was unclear how long it was between when police responded and the shooting occurred.
The man, who police didn't name, died due to his injuries. Police stated a firearm was found in the area.
"These events are difficult for all involved," the RCMP news release stated.
"Our thoughts are with the family and community at this time."
The Ottawa Police Service has been called in to independently investigate the circumstances of the man's death, according to RCMP.
In an e-mailed statement to Nunavut News/North, the Ottawa Police Service stated major crime investigators will be going to the community and that the force does not comment on ongoing investigations.
"The mayor and council has all the sympathy in the world for the family and relatives. It will be handled in due course and certainly an investigation is underway. We'll do what the hamlet always does," Hall Beach senior administrative officer Jim Langille said May 2.
The incident is the third shooting involving RCMP in the territory in six months. Ottawa Police Service were called to investigate the shooting death of a 20-year-old man in Pond Inlet on March 18 and the Dec. 19 shooting of a 21-year-old Gjoa Haven man that led to his death.
There have been several highly publicized murders and suicides broadcast on Facebook recently.
In a post on Facebook on May 3, CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated the company is seeking to make such videos and posts easier to report. The company plans to add 3,000 employees to its existing 4,500 who deal with such reports.
"And we'll keep working with local community groups and law enforcement who are in the best position to help someone if they need it -- either because they're about to harm themselves, or because they're in danger from someone else," Zuckerberg stated.
