The Berkshire Eagle
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. — An armed Hartford veteran barricaded himself in a room at the VA Medical Center on Thursday in a five-hour standoff that ended when he was taken into custody by a Vermont State Police SWAT team, police said.
The man, who was not identified, sustained minor injuries from police after he walked out of a room carrying a knife and pepper-spray, Vermont State Police Capt. Ray Keefe said.
The state police SWAT team used nonlethal force and took him into custody as he retreated into a room, said Keefe, who would not provide details about what force was used.
The man had previously held a small BB gun that looked like a larger caliber handgun, Keefe said. The BB gun was found in the room where he was taken into custody.
The standoff started after hospital staff discovered the man was armed and asked him to leave but he rushed into a room in the hospital’s in-patient ward around 12 p.m, the Valley News reported.
State police negotiators tried to negotiate with him but he threatened to harm anyone who entered the room, Keefe said.
Several patients were evacuated during the standoff, Keefe said.
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