Man who threatened woman with gun apprehended after lengthy standoff with RCMP

A near three hour standoff between police and a Saddle Lake man was the cause of a recent shelter-in-place warning, as a 24-year-old is facing several charges including aggravated assault.

At around 2:00pm on Thursday, April 11, St. Paul RCMP got a report from the Saddle Lake townsite that a female had been threated with a gun during an argument.

Police quickly responded and saw her safely outside the residence. RCMP believe

RCMP placed all businesses and schools on “lockdown” and restricted the movement of residents in the area in hopes of keeping the public safe, while trying to apprehend the suspect. 

A RCMP report on Wednesday says several shots were fired towards officers while trying to make contact with the suspect inside the resident. 

“These incidents highlight the dangers of police work and the violence our members face far to often. I’m proud of the response of our members during these recent calls for service and I’m thankful no one was seriously hurt or killed during these interactions. We want the public to know what we are up against out there and that we are doing the best we can.”

– Sgt. Bobby Burgess Operations, NCO St. Paul Detachment.

Several crews, including from Elk Point, the Emergency Response Team, Police Dog Services, the Eastern Alberta Crime Reduction Unit, and Eastern Alberta District General Investigation Section, were called in to assist. 

The shelter-in-place lasted nearly three hours. Finally, RCMP say that numerous individuals exited the residence and surrendered to police without incident. 

One of the occupants was later found to have suffered several injuries consistent with gunshot wounds and was transported to hospital for treatment, however, RCMP say they did not fire their weapons. 

Randall Pasquayak, 24, of Saddle Lake First Nation has been charged with numerous offences including uttering threats, aggravated assault, discharge a firearm with intent, and numerous firearms related offences. 

RCMP said he refused to speak to bail and was remanded into custody after a Judicial Interim Release Hearing with court now set for Thursday, April 25, to speak to bail.

No members of the RCMP were injured during this event.