Criminal charges are pending against a 55-year-old man after he allegedly assaulted a staff member and uttered threats at Carcross’s Learning Centre on April 10, triggering a lockdown of local buildings as RCMP investigated.
Both Yukon RCMP and Carcross/Tagish First Nation issued press releases on the incident.
According to Carcross/Tagish First Nation (C/TFN) spokesperson Daphne Pelletier Vernier, the suspect is believed to have specifically targeted a staff member at the Learning Centre on the morning of April 10.
After the alleged assault, Vernier said, which left the staff member with minor injuries, the suspect then left the building, allegedly threatening that he would later return with a firearm.
The incident caused C/TFN to lock down the Learning Centre, all C/TFN buildings and the daycare in Carcross “to ensure that no one else would be at risk,” C/TFN’s press release said, and the school was also put into hold-and-secure mode.
“C/TFN condemns the attack in the strongest terms and we do not tolerate verbal or physical abuse in any form against our Citizens, our staff, and our community members,” C/TFN Deputy Haa Shaa du Hen Maria Benoit said in the First Nation’s press release. “We met this morning for a full debrief and incident assessment. Additionally, we reviewed safety and security procedures to ensure such an incident does not happen again.”
“We would like to thank the officers from Carcross and Whitehorse who patrolled the community, as well as the South Klondike Highway, in search of the suspect,” she continued. “Thank you also to the Yukon RCMP Traffic Services and Whitehorse RCMP who took the suspect into custody. We are grateful to them all for their assistance.”
The Yukon RCMP press release said that a man was arrested in Whitehorse’s Riverdale neighbourhood around noon, following patrols in both Carcross and Whitehorse as well as along the South Klondike Highway.
Yukon RCMP spokesperson Coralee Reid said in an email April 11 that the man was released with a promise to appear in court in Carcross on June 4, and that charges of uttering threats and mischief are pending against him.
The name of the suspect, who is not a C/TFN citizen, has not been released.
Reid did not comment on C/TFN’s statement that an alleged assault had also occurred.
Contact Jackie Hong at jackie.hong@yukon-news.com