A Nunavut man is facing charges after vandalism to a washroom at Winnipeg’s airport Wednesday started fire sprinklers and led to water flooding through a section of the airport.
RCMP officers stationed at Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport were called after the sprinkler system was activated in family washroom around 6:15 p.m.
Airport spokesperson Tyler MacAfee tells CBC water flooded an area on the arrivals floor near the children’s play area.
He said the a man had been vandalizing the washroom — including ripping fixtures out of the walls — before the sprinklers started.
MacAfee couldn’t say exactly what the man had done or how it started the sprinklers.
“I have no idea what they were trying to do,” he said.
“They certainly did some damage to the bathroom so it’s going to have to be repaired.”
Other than forcing one of the elevators to temporarily shut down while the water was cleaned up, MacAfee said there wasn’t much of an operational impact and the incident is not being considered a security threat.
“It had no impact on flights or anything like that, we didn’t see any delays as a result,” he said.
“We were able to get them shut off, cleaned up and back into operation fairly quickly.”
Police say the water caused damage to the ceiling, walls, and floor to the bathroom and surrounding area, which includes the RCMP’s office at the airport.
A 28-year-old man from Rankin Inlet was arrested and taken to hospital because police had concerns over his mental health.
The accused was later cleared from hospital and was remanded into custody on charges of mischief over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.
