Weekend standoff ends tragically in Lebanon

(Lebanon) — A domestic dispute in Lebanon on Saturday morning that led to a police standoff ended with a 53-year-old man apparently taking his own life, Lebanon city police said.

Police were initially dispatched to an apartment at 910 Walnut St. in Lebanon around 6:45 a.m. Saturday for a domestic dispute where a female was threatened with a handgun, said Lebanon City Police Capt. David Gingrich.

The woman was held at gunpoint for approximately three hours, according to a news release from the Lebanon City Police Department. The woman was then able to escape the apartment and called police, the release stated.

One man is dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot after a standoff in Lebanon. Lebanon Daily News/ USA Today Network/ Wochit

 

The daughter of the man, a 23-year-old mentally disabled woman, was in the apartment with the man when police arrived.  The man was armed and refused to speak to police, the release stated.

“We had to deal with it as a hostage situation (because) there was someone else in there,” Gingrich said. “The fact that if he was making threats to her or not is unknown.” 

Around 11:30 a.m., the Lebanon County Emergency Services Unit entered the apartment and rescued the 23-year-old woman.  

The man was then found deceased in a rear bedroom, with what police believe is a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the release stated.

During the standoff, Gingrich said police evacuated “less than a dozen” people from surrounding properties to nearby Tabor United Church of Christ during the standoff.

“They opened up to help us out,” Gingrich said. 

The Lebanon County Emergency Services Unit was dispatched to the scene at 8 a.m. Around 9:30 a.m. fire police were called to shut down Walnut Street between 9th and 10th streets. 

First Aid and Safety Patrol was also on the scene.

At about 11:55 a.m., the ESU unit was removed from the scene.

Police did not release the subject’s name, until notification of next of kin.

This article is part of a content-sharing partnership between WITF and the Lebanon Daily News.