Gun shots hold officers
at bay; night-long standoff ends calmly
By Laura Pelner
Campus
Editor
A Tippecanoe County resident and officers from
the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's office had a five- to six-hour stand
off Monday night outside a rural home on Bridlebrook Road.
Sergeant Bob Brewer, a member of the County Sheriff's
office Special Response Team, said Tuesday that police responded to
a domestic call Monday evening. According to Brewer, a woman called
the police and said her husband was in the house and had become "irate."
Reportedly, the man, Wendell McWilliams, 55, of
1810 Bridlebrook Road, went downstairs and left his wife and four or
five others alone for a period of time. Brewer said that when McWilliams
stepped away the group left the house.
When they got out, his wife and the others were
met by police and taken to a neighbor's house, said Brewer.
Officers arrived and set up a perimeter around
the house about 9 p.m. Monday. While doing this, Brewer said the officers
heard "several gun shots." The shots continued sporadically throughout
the evening. Officers remained at the scene until between 2 and 3 a.m.
Tuesday morning.
McWilliams was the only person in the house for
the entire standoff period and officers said no one was hurt.
"The (Special Response Team) made entry and took
him into custody without incident," Brewer said.
Officers had a negotiator on the scene and didn't
make entry into the house until after 2 a.m. Brewer said that between
9:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. police attempted to make phone contact.
Brewer said McWilliams had been drinking for a
while during the day and had been depressed for some time.
"That's kind of what teetered it," he said.
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