Police officers in Calgary shot and seriously injured a man during a domestic-violence call on the evening of Sept. 20, after the man allegedly threatened the officers with undisclosed weapons.

A lengthy press statement from Ray Robitaille, acting chief of the Calgary Police Service (CPS), said that the officers had been called to a residence in the northeast section of the city at about 4:15 p.m. that day, following a report that a man had assaulted several people at the home before fleeing. Police soon located the suspect barricaded in a garage in another neighbourhood, and family and friends deduced from text messages that he was in distress.

“Officers contained the scene and attempted verbal communications with the man for approximately an hour and a half, in an effort to have him surrender peacefully,” Acting Chief Robitaille explained in the statement. “Officers believed the man was armed with a weapon.”

The suspect exited the garage at about 8 p.m. and confronted the officers with “weapons,” Robitaille added. Police deployed a Taser and firearms on the man, who was taken to a hospital in serious condition.

Robitaille said that the suspect is “known to police,” but did not release his name or age. Local media reports have identified him as Damon Parisian, stating that he is believed to be in his 30s.

The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team is investigating the incident. Robitaille noted that the CPS is cooperating fully with the investigation, which is focusing on three of the officers involved.

“They… responded to this call in a timely manner, taking all the necessary steps to ensure public safety and the safety of our officers,” he said about the three CPS members. “Their patience and due diligence was exceptional. Significant attempts were made to peacefully resolve the situation, but their duty to protect both the community and their fellow officers led to actions that stopped the threat.”

Charges are pending in the domestic-violence case, which police are investigating.

Robitaille’s statement stressed that the CPS’ priority is to protect both the community and fellow officers. “Every single day, our officers are faced with dynamic situations in which the preservation of life is always paramount,” he said. “Our members do everything possible to resolve a situation before ever drawing and discharging a firearm.”

Out of almost 220,000 service calls so far this year, the CPS has pointed firearms at a citizen in only 15, said Robitaille.

He added that the CPS’ Domestic Conflict Unit had received almost 1,500 calls over domestic incidents over the previous month, nearly 340 of which had involved violence.