 Vancouver Police cordon off several streets in the area of Canada Place near the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel in Vancouver on October 15, 2012. (CARMINE MARINELLI/QMI Agency)
|
VANCOUVER – The Surrey, B.C., man pelted by a rubber bullet at Vancouver's Fairmont Pacific Rim before surrendering to police Monday is the same person charged after a truck smashed through a B.C. hospital last month.
Ranjit Singh Sandhu, 27, faces new firearms-related charges, including two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.
Police arrested Sandhu about 10 hours after he holed up with a handgun on the second and third floor of the posh downtown hotel.
Little is known about the motive, as no hostages were taken and the only request made was for water. About 90% of the guests from 200 occupied rooms at the hotel had to be escorted to safety by police during the standoff.
“We realize that we inconvenienced a few people, but our goal from the beginning is to resolve these incidents safely for everyone,” police said, adding on Wednesday they cannot release the motive behind the two highly public incidents.
Sandhu was previously charged with impaired driving, mischief over $5,000 and two other driving-related charges after a truck plunged through an entrance of the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, B.C.
Police there said the vehicle was driven “erratically” before turning into the hospital parking lot at high speed and crashing into the emergency department entrance.
Two pedestrians were hurt.
Sandhu remains in custody pending his next court appearance in Vancouver on Friday morning.
