An apartment on Harriet Road was evacuated Wednesday when witnesses reported a resident was pointing a rifle off his balcony.
The Greater Victoria emergency response team, part of a contingent of 25 officers, was called to the building at 10:45 p.m.
Police officers went door-to-door, asking residents to leave the apartment. Many stayed aboard a B.C. Transit bus for the next three hours, while police worked in the area.
Officers knocked at the door of the suspect resident, who ignored police. Crisis negotiators couldn’t make contact after hours of attempts, so emergency response members forced their way into the unit at 2 a.m.
Inside, the 43-year-old man was in medical distress. Paramedics worked on him for a time, then he was rushed to Royal Jubilee Hospital, where he remains in a coma.
No one else was in the suite.
Investigators were still on scene Thursday afternoon, looking for the reported rifle.
ecardone@vicnews.com