AMBRIDGE, Pa. — A man is in custody after an hours-long hostage situation involving a child in Ambridge on Tuesday.
Beaver County 911 officials confirmed police were called to the 200 block of 6th Street around 3 p.m.
Police said a 2-year-old girl was held by her father inside his home. At first, officials with the DA’s office thought he had a gun but he did not.
Police and SWAT officers swarmed the yellow duplex with their guns drawn.
“It’s disturbing, very disturbing, especially so close to home,” said Mandy Inches, who lives down the street from where the standoff was happening.
Investigators said a father barricaded himself inside the upstairs bedroom with his 2-year-old daughter.
Ambridge Police Chief John DeLuca said the man grabbed his child and ran into his home as an officer was trying to arrest him for a domestic violence situation the day before.
The standoff lasted for hours. SWAT officers could be seen running in and out of the house.
“They kept running in and out. They was not going in all the way,” said 14-year-old Brianna Mitchell.
Brianna was watching the standoff unfold with her sister Yasmine Avia.
“They went in but didn’t stay in for so long,” Yasmine said.
Chief DeLuca said Spanish-speaking negotiators were trying to get the man to come out, or at least let his little girl out of the bedroom.
“We had several interpreters there taking several breaks, going back and forth talking to the subject, and at no point was he going to surrender,” he said.
That’s when SWAT officers set off two rounds of flash bangs and went into the home to rescue the little girl.
“At one point he became agitated where we felt it was necessary to go in and save the 2-year-old child before things escalated further,” said DeLuca.
The situation wrapped up just after 7 p.m.
Mandy Inches is thankful the child is safe.
“Wherever the mother is, I can’t imagine what she would be going through,” Inches said. “It’s scary, especially going after children. You don’t do that.”
Chief DeLuca said the man’s 12-year-old stepchild was picked up by officers after school and was not home at the time.
As for the father, who has not been identified yet, he’s being held in the Beaver County Jail on Monday’s charges and will face more charges from Tuesday’s hostage standoff.
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