A Chatham standoff sparked by a home panic alarm ended peacefully Wednesday when a man with a gun surrendered, Chatham-Kent police say.
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Officers responding to the alarm at a McNaughton Avenue East home about 1 pm cordoned off the area and saw a man inside with a shotgun, police said Thursday.
Negotiators persuaded the man to surrender the weapon and leave the home about 3:45 pm, police said. Officers with a warrant then searched the home.
“We had an isolated incident with an area resident,” Sgt. Jason Herder said Wednesday, adding the investigation was ongoing.
“There is no threat to public safety,” he added.
Police had to “close things off. . . (and) search the house the way we did to ensure public safety for everyone as well as our officers,” Herder said.
Police said further investigation indicated that the man was experiencing the effects of an illicit substance, which led him to believe there were other people within the home who intended to cause him harm.
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A Chatham man, 55, is charged with carelessly storing a firearm and possessing a firearm at an unauthorized place, police said. He was released with conditions and an Oct. 7 short date.
“The successful and peaceful conclusion of this incident can be attributed to the effective communication and collaboration among the various units involved,” police said.
The standoff created some tense moments for one Chatham woman, whose husband and two sons, aged 4 and 13, were instructed by police to shelter in place in their home next door to the standoff scene.
The woman, who didn’t wish to be named, said she felt “horrible” when she arrived to find her family affected by the heavy police presence.
“They (police) had their guns drawn when I came down here,” said another nearby resident, who also didn’t want to be named, adding she’d never seen a standoff in the area before.
“I thought this was pretty crazy,” she said.
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