By Jim Newell

Review Editor

Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies were on the scene of a tense situation in southern Orion Township on Monday where they were in a standoff with a man barricaded inside a home.

Deputies responded to a home in the 1000 block of Silverbell Road between Lapeer and Squirrel roads Monday around 4:05 p.m. when multiple 911 calls came in to the sheriff’s dispatch saying a man in the home was suicidal and had a gun.

Callers reported that the man, a 24-year-old Orion Twp. resident, had discharged a shotgun in the rear of the home, was making suicidal threats and threats against police if they responded, said Lt. Dan Toth, commander of the Sheriff’s Office Orion Twp. Substation.

“Deputies contained the armed individual inside the residence,” Toth said.

The man’s mother and sister had fled the home and made calls to 911. The man’s girlfriend stayed in the home, but later came out unharmed.

The sheriff’s office activated the SWAT unit, which came to the scene with an armored personnel carrier, equipment to protect officers and a negotiator, Toth said. The sheriff’s department also had aerial coverage with a helicopter.

“It was indicated to us that he was under the influence of narcotics,” Toth said, adding the suspect refused to come out or to speak with deputies and negotiators, initially.

“After about two hours of negotiations with the young man he did voluntarily come out of the house peacefully, at which time he was taken into custody,” Toth said.

Deputies confiscated a shotgun and another long gun found in the home, Toth said, adding the suspect does have a criminal history.

The sheriff’s office is now preparing a criminal complaint against the man to forward to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Silverbell Road was cordoned off near Lapeer and Squirrel roads to secure the area and deputies also told nearby residents to shelter inside their homes.

Police waited on scene after the man’s girlfriend was able to leave the home safely. Deputies were able to talk to the man and convinced him to step out of the house peacefully.

“Deputies did a tremendous job immediately setting up a perimeter and containing the individual inside the home and preventing the situation from escalating. Thankfully, no one was hurt. But we must prepare for many different types of scenarios in a situation like this,” Toth said.

A witness who lives in the area said police secured the house and checked for other people in the home after the suspect surrendered peacefully.

“He actually walked out of the house smoking a cigarette, with his rifle in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. For real. He just strolled out of the house like he was going to the store,” the witness said.

The witness said there were two women in the house with the man, but both came out early on in the standoff and were secured by an officer and removed from the scene.

“My (spouse) was down the street near the swat team/police staging area when the girls arrived – a police officer had gone to the neighbor’s house and retrieved the girls and the neighbor and brought them to the staging area. They were still very shaken and visibly scared, one girl was even vomiting, even at that point,” the witness said.

“When he finally left the house, he was very casual about it. He was smoking, carrying what appeared to be a white coffee mug and had his rifle with him. He exchanged some words with the police – I couldn’t hear what was said, but his tone was casual. No anxiety or yelling or anything.

“It looked like he set the gun down and the police quickly moved in yelling for him to get on the ground, which he did. He looked to be laughing,” the witness said.