Man arrested after 9-hour standoff in Longview

LONGVIEW, TX (KLTV) - Tense hours for police and neighbors, as an early morning call brings East Texas police to a neighborhood where they encounter an armed subject,
who then runs into a home.

Related: Suspect in custody after Longview police, SWAT team standoff

Around 6:30 this morning, Longview police responded to a 'domestic problem call' in the 400 block of Diane drive.

Police then played a long waiting game, trying to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.

An armored vehicle and uniform-clad SWAT members flooded Diane Drive when an armed subject refused to cooperate.

"We're confronted by an individual that lives at that location, had a weapon and ran back into the house," says Longview police Sargent Shane McCarder.

Police instructed residents to stay inside their homes and out of a possible line of fire.

"We barricaded the street off, and established that as a safe zone for all the residents," McCarder says.

Police say originally there were others in the house, but they were able to get out unharmed.

SWAT members took up strategic positions around the home, and as part of standard procedure attempted to talk the subject out.

Negotiators tried repeatedly to get the man talking, as tension was building.

"There's always the unknown. And unfortunately none of these things are script, and we try to slow the situation down as much as we possibly can," Sargent McCarder says. "To gain somebody's trust is a big aspect, because when our negotiators are online and they lose that trust with somebody then we lose that connection with that individual."

SWAT members, showing hand signals, moved close the residence, with a sharpshooter behind the armored vehicles blast shield. Hours passed, as police helped get nearby residents out.

"Some of the areas that are close in proximity, we vacated those as well," McCarder says.

After a 9-hour standoff, the man gave himself up.

The man who was taken into custody will not be identified until he is formally arraigned on charges.

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