A Peace River man was fatally shot by police following a five-day standoff at his farm in northeastern B.C. on Wednesday.

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk of the North District RCMP detachment said police were originally called to the property near the Buick Creek area north of Fort St. John, last Saturday following reports of a domestic dispute.

Police said the 41-year-old man was attempting to prevent his wife, children and a friend from leaving in a van on Saturday.

The man first blocked the van with his own vehicle and then shot out the front tires. The driver then drove the van to a neighbour's house and fled inside with the passengers, said police.

The man then shot out the rear tires of the van and demanded his family come out of the house. When they refused the man went back to his home with his gun, police said.

Communication attempts refused

Over the next few days police attempted to communicate with the man, who only spoke German, through a family friend, but the man refused their attempts, said police.

On Tuesday the man attempted to drive off the property but turned back after he spotted police. On Wednesday an emergency response team was brought in to stake out the property, and he was spotted several times carrying a firearm, said police.

Further attempts to communicate with the man through a translator were unsuccessful, said police.

Then at about 12:50 p.m. PT, Wednesday the man confronted the ERT members as he attempted to leave the property again, and he was fatally shot, said police.

The man's name has not yet been released, pending notification of his next of kin, said Moskaluk.

The RCMP's major crimes unit will investigate the shooting, along with an independent observer from the Commission for Public Complaints against the RCMP, Moskaluk said.

In a separate incident last Saturday, a man was fatally shot by RCMP officers after police tracked him to a tiny community near New Hazelton and tried to arrest him on outstanding warrants.