Local News

Man With SKS Rifle Surrenders After 7-Hour Standoff

Posted Updated

CHATHAM COUNTY, N.C. — A man armed with a semi-automatic rifle held Chatham County deputies at bay for more than 7 hours on Thursday at his home near Siler City before surrendering peacefully.

At 2: 40 p.m., authorities received a call that a man was suicidal, paranoid and had an SKS rifle in his home.

The man's mother was also in the home at the time the call came in, said Major Gary Blankenship of the Chatham County Sheriff's Office.

Blankenship said that when deputies arrived at the home, they made telephone contact with him and he refused to come out and the standoff began.

A perimeter was set up around the house and Detective Sgt. Mike Miller, a trained hostage negotiator, began to communicate with Johnson by telephone.

About an hour into the standoff, the mother came out and was moved to a safe location. A few minutes later, a single gunshot was heard from inside the house. Then, the man was seen walking throughout the house unharmed.

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.