A 39-year-old man in Hall Beach, who broadcast online that he sought to die by police, was shot and killed by officers who responded to the scene.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.
News/North did not see the video. According to a CBC report, the man's video lasted 22 minutes from inside a home and ended before police arrived.
"Suicide motherf--kers!" he yells in the video, according to CBC. "This is how you do it. Suicide by cops."
Officers went to a home in the community to find the man 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 much time passed between when police responded and when the shooting occurred.
The man, whom 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.
In an e-mailed statement to 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 deaths of a 20-year-old man in Pond Inlet on March 18 and a 21-year-old man in Gjoa Haven on Dec. 19.
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.