A 41-year-old Westlock man was arrested at gunpoint in the Barrhead Elementary School parking lot last Friday morning.
Barrhead RCMP Cpl. Darryl Lutz said in a media release from March 14 that early in the morning that day, police got several complaints about a silver truck speeding through intersections and driving dangerously.
After making patrols around 8:30 a.m., police saw the suspect vehicle on 55A Street, but it didn’t stop when the members activated their emergency lights.
The truck turned east onto 53 Avenue, which passes right in front of the Barrhead Elementary School and Barrhead Composite High School, and drove “at a high rate of speed” through the school zone. After the suspect turned the vehicle in the school parking area, police managed to cut him off and force the suspect to stop. He was then arrested at gunpoint.
Police say the suspect has an “extensive” criminal record with at least 70 prior convictions dating back to 1988. Police will seek to hold him in custody until a future court appearance.
“Given the time of day and location of this incident it was very fortunate that nobody was hurt,” the media release stated.
The media release did not indicate the name of the suspect, if drugs or alcohol were factors, how many people were in the area when the incident took place, how many police officers were involved, what charges the suspect will face or whether any of his extensive criminal record entries are for offences related to dangerous driving.
