Durham police standoff ends with arrest

Shortly after 8:30 a.m., officers responding to a domestic disturbance call discovered that a man armed with a sawed-off shotgun assaulted his ex-girlfriend and was making threats inside her apartment in Building 32 of the complex.

The man was later identified as 37-year-old Demarcus Minter, police said.

Nine children, ranging in age from 4 months to 16 years old, were inside the home at the time. Minter is the father of some of the children, police said.

The woman, who suffered minor injuries, and children made it out of the apartment safely after officers arrived, but Minter refused to leave, police said.

Police evacuated nearby buildings and SWAT officers stationed themselves around the complex.

"In any situation where we have a subject (who) is barricaded or a hostage situation, certain safety for the public is our No. 1 priority, as well as safety for our officers responding to the scene," said Lt. Patrice Vickers of the Durham Police Department.

Hostage negotiators were on scene, but couldn't make contact with Minter, police said. After telling him via loudspeaker to leave the building through the back door, SWAT officers fired several rounds of tear gas into the apartment shortly after noon.

When Minter had not surrendered more than an hour later, officers stormed the building and took him into custody. He was in a neighboring apartment, police said.

Minter was charged with 10 counts of second-degree kidnapping, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, breaking and entering, assault on a female and communicating threats.

According to Department of Correction records, Minter absconded from probation following a 2008 conviction for felony breaking and entering and larceny. He also has a prior assault on a female conviction from 2003.