KUTV - A SWAT standoff in Taylorsville ends peacefully after an armed man barricaded in his apartment surrendered to police.
The 29-year-old suspect, armed with a rifle, held the SWAT team at bay for several hours Friday morning.
Authorities say the incident began around 1 a.m. as a domestic dispute at a home near 4000 South and 1300 West. A man had returned to the home to retrieve some of his belongings. Apparently distraught over marital problems, he threatened his estranged wife he would commit suicide.
“He had a gun to his head, indicating he was going to kill himself,” said Det. Troy Martinez, Taylorsville Police Department.
The woman left the apartment and sent a text message to a friend asking for help from police.
“She told us he had never threatened her and that he had allowed her to leave and come and go as she pleased,” Martinez said.
SWAT teams were called in around 5 a.m. to talk the man from the home.
Thirty-one units in the apartment complex were evacuated and 1300 West was closed during the standoff.
“I was scared,” said Queena Goodwin. “The cops came to my house and just asked me to leave.”
The adults and children were taken to a golf course clubhouse across the street.
Around 10 a.m. the man answered a call from authorities and came out of the home without incident.
The man is being held for 72 hours for a mental evaluation. Charges could be filed after that.
The couple has two daughters who were not home at the time of the incident.
