The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have arrested an 18-year-old man for first-degree murder in the death of an OPP constable near Hearst, Ont.

Constable Tarun Bali was seriously injured Tuesday afternoon while conducting an investigation near the northern Ontario community, about 600 kilometres northwest of Sudbury.

In an update this evening, OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique announced the charges, which also included two counts each of flight from police and dangerous driving.

Carrique said the accused had escaped from a hospital, where he was being assessed under the Mental Health Act. Officers were trying to apprehend the man, when he allegedly hit Const. Bali with a vehicle.

Other OPP officers and a member of the Nishnawbe-Aski Police service later took the accused into custody.

Const. Bali was assigned to the Dufferin detachment in southern Ontario and had more than two years of service. Carrique said Bali had previously completed rotations in the James Bay detachment area.

In an earlier release, the OPP said the officers from the James Bay detachment were investigating in the Kendall Concession Road 7 and Concession Road 6 area near Hearst at around 12:30 p.m. ET.

The OPP criminal investigation branch is looking into Bali’s death, in conjunction with the Office of the chief coroner and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

Officer ‘well liked’ and ‘respected’

In his remarks Tuesday evening, Carrique said he and his fellow officers were “absolutely heartbroken” with the loss of Const. Bali.

“I can tell you that Provincial Constable Bali dreamed of being a police officer,” said Carrique. He said he sat down with the officer’s family and saw a photo of a two-year-old Tarun Bali, saluting next to a photo of a police officer.

In an interview with CBC News, OPP Association president David Sabatini said other members of the Dufferin detachment are grieving.

“Const. Bali was a very well liked and respected member of [the Dufferin] detachment and of the OPP organization,” he said.

“This is every police and family member’s worst nightmare. It’s another reminder of the dangers that our members face every day as they serve to protect the citizens of Ontario.”