Syracuse, NY — Police negotiators Wednesday evening continue to attempt to convince a man believed to be armed with a gun to peacefully leave an apartment at Brighton Towers, where he has been barricaded for more than nine hours.
Police were called around 9:43 am to the apartments at 821 E. Brighton Ave. for a menacing complaint.
Syracuse Police Chief Joe Cecile Wednesday evening said the man, who is in his 60s, pointed a handgun at a woman he is in a relationship with in a 14th floor apartment in Tower 1.
The man left and entered an apartment on the sixth floor, where he has barricaded himself, Cecile said.
Police believe the man is alone in the apartment. The floor has been evacuated along with some apartments on the floor below.
The man has communicated little with police, Cecile said. They’ve tried calling his phone, sending him messages and had his family attempt to make contact with him, but police haven’t gotten through to him, he said.
“We have every reason to believe he still has the handgun, so we’re treating everything very carefully, very slowly using sanctity of life as our yardstick,” Cecile said.
Police declined to identify the man or the apartment he is barricaded in. Cecile said he is a tenant at Brighton Towers. He is barricaded in someone else’s apartment, he said.
Tenants from the evacuated apartments are staying in a community room on the building’s first floor. Food and medications are being provided for them, Cecile said.
“We don’t know how long this is going to go on, but there’s no danger to any of the tenants at this point,” Cecile said.
Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him at [email protected].
