07-05-2025
One person dead after police shooting in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que.
One person is dead after a fatal police shooting in the Nunavik community of Kangiqsualujjuaq.
Quebec's police watchdog, the bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), is investigating the incident. In a news release Wednesday morning, the BEI shared its preliminary findings.
Around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night, Nunavik police officers found a wanted person inside a tent and officers used pepper spray to force the person out. That person came out with a bladed weapon and police used a taser to subdue them. A police officer then opened fire, according to the BEI's statement.
BEI writes that the individual was taken to a health centre, where they were pronounced dead.
Five investigators are heading to the community and are expected to arrive Wednesday afternoon.
BEI has body camera footage from the incident.
Spokesperson Jérémie Comtois said the agency would analyze that footage for its final report which, once complete, will be submitted to Quebec's director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
Given the sensitivity of these reports, Comtois said the BEI would not be disclosing anything further from the investigation to the public.
"It is possible, subject to the prosecutor's agreement, that certain elements of the investigation will be available for consultation only to the relatives at the end of the process," he said.
"Our investigations take on average approximately six months before we send our report to DPCP who will determine whether to bring charges against the police officers involved."
The Nunavik Police Service (NPS) declined to comment.
a man was killed during an altercation with NPS in the village of Salluit.
Later that month, Nunavik's police chief pledged to implement every recommendation from the investigation into that shooting once those investigators' final reports are presented.
