CRESTLINE—Crestline Police and the Crawford County Special Response Unit were able to apprehend a man that was making homicidal and suicidal threats on Friday while wielding a gun.

According to Crestline Police Chief Jeff Shook, the department was notified that a man had broken into an apartment in the 100 block of East Thrush Avenue. Gunshots could be heard in the background while the third party person was on the phone with authorities.

Shook said that the 41-year-old man, Tommy King Jr., refused to answer the door of the apartment for officers and due to the gravity of the situation, the Crawford County Special Response Team (SRT) was called in for assistance along with units from neighboring areas. The SRT unit consists of officers and detectives from the Crestline, Bucyrus, New Washington and Galion Police Departments as well as the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.

He said officers secured the perimeter around the apartment building and several announcements to King for him to surrender were ignored. Attempts to discharge a smoke grenade through an upstairs window were made but unsuccessful so pepper balls were discharged into the residence. King then came to the front door and was quickly placed under arrest.

Officers recovered King’s weapon, along with other evidence, while King was taken to Avita Galion Community Hospital for treatment of a self-inflicted cut on one of his hands. No one else was injured in the incident.

Upon his release from the hospital, King will be booked into the Crawford County Justice Center and held on several outstanding warrants pending additional charges by the Crawford County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Once again, the cooperation amongst agencies contributed to the best possible outcome for this incident. The multi-jurisdictional Crawford County SRT team includes officers from every agency in Crawford County and we were assisted in our efforts today by officers from the Bucyrus Police Department, the Galion Police Department, the New Washington Police Department and the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office,” said Shook. “Thank you for the support we receive from these incredible departments and they are all a credit to their communities.”