Circumstances Pile Up Into Cop Standoff In Manchester

MANCHESTER, CT — A man picking up a gun from a relationship split snowballed into a set of circumstances that led to a police standoff in Manchester Thursday night.

The man was not arrested, but Manchester police were forced to respond aggressively in a strange domino effect of events, a department official said.

"To the public, the operation probably seemed bigger than it was, but, at the same time, we acted with the safety of the community in mind," Manchhester police spokesman Lt. Ryan Shea said.

It all began with a 911 call from a woman on Lxi Drive at 9:30 p.m., Shea said. She had left several items belonging to a now ex-boyfriend on her lawn and he came to retrieve them. A shotgun and ammunition were among the items, Shea said.

The man sent the woman a message a short time later, seemingly angry because the items were left outside exposed to the weather, he said.

Shortly after the message, the woman called police to say she heard what seemed like gunshots in the neighborhood. A canvass of the neighborhood produced two other similar stories with one neighbor thinking the bangs may have been fireworks, Shea said.

The home seemed unharmed, She said.

Nevertheless, considering the man had a gun, officers searched for him, Shea said. He was located at a North main Street residence, but was "uncooperative" when asked to come out. With the gun in mind, police set up a "presence" around the home, she said.

The man came out about 10 minutes on the suggestion of a negotiator after "extra resources" were deployed and the gun did not appear to have been fired, Shea said.

No criminal cherges were filed.