SWAT standoff ends with suspect not home
An East Lake Courts SWAT standoff came to an end Tuesday evening after the suspect was found to not be in the home after about four hours.
Chattanooga police were called to a report of shots being fired in the 2600 block of Fourth Avenue at around 1:30 p.m. Surveillance video revealed that two suspects exchanged gunfire, and one suspect fled in a vehicle while the other
retreated into a residence. No injuries were reported.
Not long after that, law enforcement officers began attempting to negotiate to bring the suspect out, but they received no response. As the hours crawled on, school buses passed through, dropping off groups of children. One child was visibly upset, though it wasn’t clear why.
Malik Woods was stuck in his apartment during the standoff. He lives a few doors away from where the suspect allegedly was and said he heard about three gunshots before police arrived.
Woods could see the SWAT vehicles in front and behind his apartment. He said he was “a little bit
freaked out” but was trying to figure out what was going on and if anyone had been hurt. Four other people were stuck in the home with him, he said.
“They were upset and concerned mostly,” he said, but not necessarily afraid. His fiancé was outside, unable to get to the house.
By about 6:20 p.m., the standoff finally came to an end.
“Out of an abundance of caution and due to witness accounts that the suspect was still in the home, the [police] elected to remain outside and use negotiators to call him outside,” Chattanooga police spokesman Rob Simmons said in a text message.
But when police finally
entered the apartment, no one was there.
Simmons said it’s not common for a suspect to be gone after a standoff but it does happen sometimes.
“We would rather make sure our officers are safe than put them in harm’s way to save time,” he said.
He added it’s better to take time to gather information and come up with a plan instead of sending officers into a house and potentially being shot.
Both suspects were still at large late Tuesday evening. And police had not yet released their identities.
The suspects are considered armed and dangerous, authorities said.