It was a long and tense day and night for Philadelphia Police who responded to the scene of a barricade situation in North Philadelphia for more than 16 hours.
Officials say the parents of a suicidal 26-year-old man called police around 9:30 a.m. Sunday. When authorities arrived the found the man barricaded inside the basement of an off-campus Temple University apartment on the 1800 block of Willington Street.
The unidentified man remained in the home for hours until SWAT officers used family members to coax him into leaving the home and surrendering peacefully around 2:15 a.m. Monday.
“Life is sacred and there is no price or no time limit on bringing someone out safely and that’s what we did,” said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan. “We invested an awful lot of resources into this but, in the end, it was worth it.”
Police say the man is a student at Temple University.
One witness claims at one point the suspect fired his gun. No injuries were reported however.
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Sullivan said that the student didn't shoot at police but did discharge his weapon inside the home.
Residents who live nearby were not allowed back into their homes during the barricade. Several cars were also blocked by police and SWAT units.
"I've been out here since about 12 in the afternoon," said Annaleise Palo. "It's gotten really cold out. There's a bunch of people out here. Everybody's on corners. Everyone has groceries. People have schoolwork and stuff that they have to do tomorrow. I missed work. I've just been out here for a long time. It's been a long day."
Officials warned Temple University students to avoid the area.
"I was texting all my roommates telling them, 'don't come back to the house... the whole streets are barricaded,'" said Temple student Marvin Pathrose.
No word on if any charges will be filed.
Sullivan said the man was hospitalized for treatment.
