Man holds hostages before fatally shooting himself Friday night in Bloomington, Indiana

A 46-year-old man allegedly held hostages Friday night before fatally shooting himself Friday, March 10, 2023 in Bloomington, Indiana, according to police. Police dressed in tactical gear surrounded a house in the 3300 block of North Kingsley Drive, and brought the Bearcat for armor. The man inside a house held two children, who escaped, and a 76-year-old woman, the BPD said in a press release.

The Bloomington Police Department released the following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

________________________________________________________________

March 11, 2023

For more information, please contact:

Captain Ryan Pedigo

Bloomington Police Department

(812)349-3324

[email protected]

Bloomington Police Respond to Hostage Situation

On March 10, 2023, at approximately 5:10 p.m., officers with the Bloomington Police Department responded to a residence in the 3300 block of N Kingsley Drive in reference to a 911 call of a man at the residence who was armed with a handgun and holding hostages inside. First arriving officers made contact with the juvenile complainant who reported that a man inside the residence was intoxicated and pointing a handgun at individuals while threatening to kill them. The juvenile and another sibling had escaped from the house and called 911 for help.

Due to the man being armed with a handgun and holding hostages inside the residence, members of the Critical Incident Response Team as well as the Crisis Negotiation Team responded to the scene. The Crisis Negotiation Team is a group of highly trained officers and a Police Social Worker that work to establish communication with individuals to de-escalate situations. A Crisis Negotiator was able to make FaceTime contact with the man and observed that the man was holding a handgun while making threats to kill a hostage inside the house as well as officers on scene. The Crisis Negotiator spoke with the man for approximately 40 minutes and attempted to get the man to release the hostage from the residence, but the man refused. The man threatened to kill himself and officers multiple times and also refused to exit the residence without the gun in his possession. At 6:31 p.m. while still speaking with a Crisis Negotiator, the 46-year-old man shot himself in the kitchen of the residence and the 76-year-old hostage was able to flee from the house to safety.

No other individuals were injured during the event. The Monroe County Coroner responded to the scene and took possession of the body. The name of the decedent is not being released at this time, as the investigation is ongoing.  No further information is available for release.

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