Garner man warned of grenade before committing suicide
A 24-year-old Garner man shot and killed himself Sunday during a three-hour standoff with Harnett County authorities. Before pulling the trigger, he told them there was a grenade inside his Garner apartment, prompting dozens of evacuations.
Posted — UpdatedThe chain of events began about 9:19 a.m. when the Harnett County E-911 Center received reports of an impaired driver in a Ford Focus on Old Coats Road. About 10 minutes later, a Lillington police officer spotted the car parked at an abandoned home.
When the officer approached the car, Ryan James Gibson, of 1211 Tumbling Stone Way, showed a gun and threatened to kill himself, according to the Harnett County Sheriff's Office. Negotiators tried for three hours to get Gibson to surrender. He refused and warned them about a grenade in his apartment before committing suicide.
Garner police evacuated 36 apartments in three buildings about 11:30 a.m. at Abberly Place Apartment Homes, 500 Abberly Crest Blvd.
A robot operated by State Bureau of Investigation agents entered a ground apartment, and a three-hour search did not turn up anything suspicious, police said.
Records show Gibson was arrested in February 2010 and charged with making a false report to a police station. No other information was released.
• Credits
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
