The incident began Monday afternoon when 24-year-old Derrick Harper ofDurham went to the Research Triangle Park offices of IBM where hisgirlfriend worked and kidnapped her, said Police Capt. W.R. Thomas.
Harper released his girlfriend about 6 p.m. and she reported thekidnapping to the police. While officers were looking for Harper, he wentto the home of his girlfriend's sister, kidnapped several people atgunpoint and forced them to drive him to the home of a third sister,Thomas said.
About 7 p.m., Harper locked himself inside the apartment holding fivemembers of his girlfriend's family at gunpoint. Police said Harperdemanded to see his girlfriend or he would kill one family member everyhour.
The hostages included twin 14-year-old girls and a 6-year-old boy. Theboy, who spent the afternoon as a hostage, was the first to be releasedabout 10 p.m. Another hostage escaped about 11:30 p.m.
Heavily armed SWAT teams surrounded the building and evacuated thearea as police negotiators convinced Harper to release his hostagesone by one throughout the night. Harper's girlfriend eventually came tothe scene and talked to Harper.
After releasing all his hostages, Harper gave himself up to police withoutfiring a shot. Police said Harper would be evaluated by doctors at DukeUniversity.
Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
