From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
MOUNTAIN BROOK — A police standoff that lasted over six hours with a barricaded suspect on Saturday night ended peacefully, according to a statement from Chief Ted Cook of the Mountain Brook Police Department.
Cook said police were called to the 3600 block of Dunbarton Drive for a domestic dispute at 4:01 p.m. on Saturday.
When officers arrived, they found a man who had poured gasoline inside the residence standing with a box of matches in hand and threatening to ignite the gasoline. The residence was occupied when the incident occurred, but the other people in the dwelling were able to make it outside safely.
The suspect then barricaded himself in the basement of the home and refused to come out while continuing to threaten to burn down the residence.
Police called crisis negotiators to the scene and they were able to negotiate with the suspect for several hours until talks broke down, Cook said. Continued efforts at communication were unsuccessful.
At approximately 10:24 p.m., the suspect voluntarily left the residence and surrendered to police without incident. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Cook said that during the altercation, the suspect released his dog, which charged police officers in an aggressive manner. An officer discharged his weapon, firing at the dog, but the dog was not struck by the bullet and was uninjured.
Mountain Brook Police said the investigation into the incident is continuing.