A man who had fired multiple shots inside his North Huntingdon house and was holed up for six hours Thursday as police sought to end the standoff surrendered peacefully, state police said.
North Huntingdon police and a state police special emergency response team had surrounded the house at 1752 Ivanhoe Drive and the unidentified suspect ended the standoff at 7 p.m. Thursday, said state police spokesman Trooper Steve Limani.
“The person came out unarmed,” Limani said, adding that they had not determined a motive for the standoff.
Police were communicating with the man and believed that “a mental health situation” may have come into play, Limani said.
After the surrender, police searched the house to ensure that there was no one else there, he said. The house is near the intersection of Clay Pike and Barnes Lake Road.
Police will confer with the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office to determine what charges the suspect will face, Limani said.
The front and back windows of the house where the suspect had held police at bay had been broken and the smell of tear gas was wafting in the air, even as North Huntingdon firefighters used large fans to force air into the structure.
Police also used flash bang grenades during the siege, the sound of which could be heard about a half-mile away.
The incident began shortly after 1 p.m. when North Huntingdon police went to the home to check on the resident’s welfare and heard gunshots as they approached the house, Limani said. He did not say what prompted police to visit to the house.
The state police special response team, including an armored vehicle, was dispatched to the site and police cordoned off the area around the home. Nearby residents were evacuated and those who could not be evacuated were told to stay away from windows and go in the basement, if possible.
There were multiple weapons in the house, including a long rifle, a more powerful weapon that concerned police, Limani said.
Police also evacuated about 10 people inside shops at Clay Pike Plaza and transported them to the Lutheran Church of Our Savior about a half-mile away on Clay Pike.
One of those evacuees, Annette Albensi, owner of Headline Studio in the plaza, said police came into the beauty salon shortly after 1 p.m. and told those inside to lock the door and go to the back of the shop.
“At first I thought it was kind of a joke. Then I realized he was serious,” Albensi said. “I could not believe what he was saying.”
At Pasqualino’s Pizza, Bill Harbadin of Forest Hills, a prep cook, said he was making pizza dough when police told people to lock the doors. He said they had no idea what was going on from inside the shop in the plaza.
Stuck in a pizza shop with nowhere to go, he said, they ate pizza.
Heavy police presence in North Huntingdon as they respond to “possible threat to life or property.” Parts of Clay Pike and Barnes Lake Road are closed pic.twitter.com/lN3KN59L6n
— Maddie Aiken (@madsaiken) July 28, 2022
