Man charged after Tecumseh Road Walmart evacuated

Police guard the scene of an evacuated Walmart in Windsor on Sunday, July 23, 2017. (CTV Windsor)

A 25-year-old man has been charged after a ‘mental health situation’ that caused the east Windsor Walmart to be evacuated.

Windsor police evacuated the store on Tecumseh Road East on Sunday around 5:25 p.m.

Earlier in the day, around 1:45 p.m., officers were dispatched to a residence in the east side of Windsor regarding a family complaint.

Officers met with a 23-year-old man who reported that he just returned from a family vacation and was concerned for the well-being of his 25-year-old brother.

The brother had sent the complainant text messages and photos while he was on the vacation. The content of the messages and photos led officers to have a genuine concern for the safety of the 25-year-old man.

Information was also received that the subject male may have access to firearms, and was possibly battling substance abuse.

Further review of the text messages sent from the man revealed that he had threatened to harm a family member.

Officers had information regarding the vehicle the subject male was operating and began to search for him.

At approximately 5:25 p.m., officers found the vehicle unoccupied in the Walmart parking lot. Officers set up a perimeter and established communications with store management.

At approximately 5:50 p.m. the man exited the store, walked towards his parked vehicle and was arrested without incident.

The store was evacuated to safely allow officers to search for the possibility that the man had discarded a weapon.

No weapon was recovered from the store, and it was soon re-opened.

The subject vehicle was seized by police.

The man was transported to hospital for evaluation and kept under police guard for the night.

On Monday, the man was released from hospital and escorted to the Windsor Police Detention Centre.

Investigators from the Major Crimes Branch recovered a rifle that had been stored in the trunk of the seized vehicle. The rifle was trigger locked, and the bolt action was not present, rendering the firearm inoperable.

Investigators do not believe that any weapon had been brought into the store, and are not searching for any further weapons.

The 25-year-old man was later released from custody on a promise to appear with a court date of Aug. 16, for two counts of uttering a death threat.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Windsor Police Service at 519-255-6700 ext. 4830, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 519-258-8477 (TIPS), or online at www.catchcrooks.com.