Courtney Cohen
Valparaiso police Sgt. Mike Grennes updates reporters about the hostage situation at a realty office.
Police negotiators were talking with an gunman inside a Valparaiso, Ind., realty office Friday afternoon.
A man who barricaded himself inside a Valparaiso, Ind., office building has died after shooting himself twice in the head, authorities said.
The man, whose name has not yet been publicly released, was taken to the hospital and intially listed in critical condition.
Following the release of a number of hostages, SWAT team members stormed the building, at 2612 N. Calumet Ave. A number of bystanders and law enforcement later cheered and offered each other handshakes and pats on the back.
The man kept a number of people hostage after walking into the low-rise office building at about 10 a.m. Friday. All of the hostages were released by 4 p.m. One of them, an older woman released at about 3:30, was taken away in an ambulance.
Valparaiso police Sgt. Michael Grennes said authorities exchanged gunfire with the man when they arrived on scene. He couldn't confirm if anyone was struck or injured, but said he didn't believe that was the case.
Grennes said the situation is not a domestic dispute. Grennes said the man was reportedly owed money by someone who had been inside.
"We have a number of different police agencies here. ... It's going to stay secure until they can actually get in here and get the situation under control," he said.
It's not clear how many people were inside the 21st Century Real Estate office, but a man named Mike who works at the neighboring Brown Tire store said he thinks there could have been as many as 15.
Police could be seen with guns drawn at the Prudential Executive Group building. Fire crews blocked the intersection of Roosevelt Avenue, Vale park Road and Calumet Avenue as a precaution.
 |
 |
