The Associated Press, The Scranton Times
DUNMORE, Pa. (AP) -- A man accused of firing several gunshots from the window of his apartment above a Lackawanna County senior center was taken into custody safely early Sunday morning after a 4 1/2 hour standoff with police.
Prosecutors said the shots injured no one, but disrupted a normally bustling intersection in Dunmore as police shut down the area around the building for several hours.
“We heard a bunch of gunshots going off. We didn’t think anything of it, and we thought it was just fireworks,” said Sierra Lancia, who lives about two blocks away.
Police converged on the home at around 7:30 p.m. Saturday and tried to negotiate for hours with the alleged shooter, identified by a prosecutor as John Harris.
A police SWAT team entered the building at around midnight and emerged with Harris about 15 minutes later. Authorities said he did not resist.
The arrest followed numerous police attempts to get Harris to come out on his own. About an hour into the standoff, authorities had Harris’ boss at a nearby auto repair shop speak to him by telephone.
“All I asked him was to come out,” said Joe Abda. “He said, ‘Nope,’ The only thing I could tell you is, I actually begged the guy to come down so he wouldn’t get in any more problems than he is right now.”
The building also contains the Dunmore Senior Center.