A young woman is in police custody following a four-hour standoff downtown overnight.
Victoria police say the incident began shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday, when officers were alerted to a break & enter at a business in the 1300-block of Broad Street.
Officers spotted the female suspect, who scrambled to the rooftop to escape.
A K9 unit was brought in to help locate the woman.
She then broke into two separate apartment suites in a three-storey apartment building in the 1300-block of Douglas Street, and barricaded herself inside the second suite.
She also discharged a fire extinguisher and pulled the fire alarm. Tenants were evacuated from adjacent suites.
The Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) was called in and after several attempts to negotiate with the suspect proved unsuccessful, the team used a loud flash bang device at 4:20a.m. The force of the blast blew out the windows of the unit, showering the sidewalk below with broken glass.
The woman wasn't injured during the takedown. After an initial medical assessment onsite, the woman asked to be taken to hospital.
She is now in in police custody.
Officers are recommending multiple counts of Break and Enter and Mischief.