Armed man surrenders after standoff
A home along Seventh Avenue West is spotlighted as law enforcement officials negotiate with an armed, potentially suicidal subject in the the residence. The 41-year-old man surrended Monday evening after a three-and-a-half hour armed standoff with police. (Karen Nichols/The Daily Inter Lake)
By NICHOLAS LEDDEN / The Daily Inter Lake
A Kalispell man surrendered peacefully Monday evening after a three-and-a-half hour armed standoff with police.
The 41-year-old man, whose name was not released, was taken into custody about 7 p.m. after voluntarily exiting the front door of his Seventh Avenue West trailer home.
As the man stood in the snow at the bottom of his front steps, members of the Kalispell Police Department's SWAT team rushed from behind the cover of nearby homes and the city's B.E.A.R. (the armored vehicle had been parked in the front yard to spotlight the residence) and forced the man to his knees.
After being handcuffed and led to a waiting squad car, the man was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for a mental health evaluation.
"It ended as well as it could have," said Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset.
Police initially responded to the man's residence, located on Seventh Avenue West between Center and First streets, after a therapist he had spoken with earlier in the day became concerned for his welfare and notified authorities.
The man apparently was depressed about the current economic situation and the loss of his friends' jobs.
Upon arrival, officers heard what they believed were gunshots from inside the house. The man, who was armed with a handgun, then threatened to shoot anyone who approached the residence, Nasset said.
He surrendered without incident after several hours of negotiations during which investigators convinced the man that officers wouldn't leave until he came out.
The man, who denied ever firing a shot, is not facing criminal charges, Nasset said Monday night. However, should investigators determine shots actually were fired, the man may face prosecution.
No one else was in the home when the incident occurred, and nobody was injured. Police had evacuated the surrounding homes early into the siege.
The Kalispell Fire Department responded with a mobile command center and an ambulance. The Flathead County Sheriff's Office SWAT team was placed on standby but never deployed.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com