Police standoff in N. Tonawanda lasts 8 hours

NORTH TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) - North Tonawanda Police found themselves in a standoff with an armed man for almost eight hours on Tuesday night. It began when Police got a call about an unwanted person inside a home in the 200 block of Tremont Street in North Tonawanda.

The drama came to an end shortly after midnight when the man, who has been identified by North Tonawanda police as Martin Hall,  surrendered to police.

Around 11 p.m. police set off two 'flash bang' devices to distract the man. That gave two police negotiators the opportunity to get inside the room with the man. About 45 minutes later, the man surrendered.

The man was in his 30's locked in a bedroom of the upstairs apartment with a rifle.

North Tonawanda Police Chief Randy Szukala said, "The officer made contact with a male who was sitting in the bedroom with a rifle of some type. He told him to put the gun down and he ignored the command."

The man's girlfriend and two of her teenage children left the house with the officer unharmed. But he still refused to talk with police.

As the S.W.A.T. Team, a negotiator, and paramedics arrived, so did many spectators from the neighborhood. They came, even though people on the block were told to stay inside their homes.

Nearby resident, Dawn Disalvo said, "It does scare me. We also heard that there were children or his wife in house and I was definitely concerned because I'm a mom. And to see the S.W.A.T. Team come, it's scary."

"It's crazy because everything is right in our front yard," added Matt Patridge.

Robert Chase lives in the downstairs apartment of the house and he says officers were out here just Monday night. Chase said, "From all I know is that they were fighting last night and they had cops coming over to see what was going on and to break up the fight."

The same man locked himself in a garage with a gun back in 2008 when he was 29.  He surrendered peacefull then also.  He is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning.