A standoff at the Polk County Law Enforcement Facility Sunday morning ended when the suspect suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A Polk County deputy discovered a man who had been arrested had a gun in the patrol car at about 4:57 a.m. on Sunday, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The patrol car within the security fence of the Polk County Law Enforcement Facility at 164 Government Complex Drive in Columbus when they made the discovery, the sheriff’s office said.
Law enforcement asked the suspect to numerous times to give them the weapon, according to the sheriff’s office. The standoff ended when the suspect suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The sheriff’s office said that the public was not in danger at any time and the situation was contained by law enforcement.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by the North Carolina State Bureau of
Investigation, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Transylvania County Sheriff’s Office,
the Columbus Police Department, Polk County Emergency Management, Cleveland County
Sheriff’s Office, and the Tryon Police Department.
The NC State Bureau of Investigation will continue to investigate the incident.
ORIGINAL (1/13/18 12:14 p.m.):
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office’s SWAT team has been assisting the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Sunday morning at the Polk County Law Enforcement Center.
Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Frank Stout said they received a request to assist the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at about 8 a.m.
Stout said their SWAT team and armored rescue vehicle has been assisting with a barricaded suspect situation near the Polk County Law Enforcement Center.
Details are limited at this time. We have crews enroute to the scene.
We will update this story as details become available.
