A Charleston Police officer ended his own life during a standoff situation at a home in West Ashley Thursday.
Officials tell WCBD-TV that they were called to the house for a domestic situation around 8 a.m.
The officer, Sgt. George Hildebidle, was armed and alone inside the house on Grand Oaks Boulevard and refused to come outside, authorities say.
Contact was never made and his death was announced around 2 pm
Hildebidle leaves behind a wife and 2 children.
The house was surrounded before the officer inside “decided to end his life his own way,” the Police Chief Gregg Mullen explained.
Officials say family dogs inside the house made it hard to confirm his death.
Around 11 am officials said that the officer threatened to harm himself at the home in the 100 block on Sugar Magnolia Way in Grand Oaks Plantation in West Ashley. . They were trying to contact him via phone and PA system, however, no contact was made.
According to initial reports, the officer was home by himself and there was a weapon in the home with him after a domestic dispute.
The Sheriff’s Office Negotiators and SWAT team are on scene.
Nearby homes have been evacuated following a lockdown. Officials say the community is not in danger.
