Barricaded man holds police at bay briefly before arrest
A Birdsboro man was arrested after firing shots from the windows of his apartment during the early morning hours Thursday and then barricading himself inside the building when police arrived.
Birdsboro police Chief Todd Trupp said Kyle Avery Johnston, 32, of the 400 block of West Second Street fired shots from the third floor windows of his apartment starting around 4 a.m. Trupp gave this account: Borough police were dispatched to a report of shots fired. Amity and Robeson township police also sent officers to the scene. Police determined the shots were coming from Johnston’s apartment.
The neighborhood is next to the building that is the former Birdsboro Elementary Center.
Officers tried to contact Johnston but he refused to comply with police requests to exit the residence. Meanwhile, officers evacuated residents of other units.
When Johnston refused to communicate with officers or exit the building police called in the Berks County Emergency Response Team, the counties special weapons and tactics unit. BCERT, as the team is known, consists of specially trained police officers as well as negotiators and is typically called to assist police in situations involving barricaded, armed individuals.
Police continued to try to communicate with Johnston via telephone and other electronic means but he refused to comply with further efforts by borough police and BCERT to get him to exit the building.
Birdsboro police obtained a search warrant for Johnston, his weapons and other items relevant to the initial shots-fired call and when the warrant arrived BCERT officers made forced entry. They located Johnston on the third floor of the building and arrested him. It was unclear from police reports what time Johnston was taken into custody.
Police seized two handguns, two rifles and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Johnston was taken to Reading Central Court where he was charged with causing a catastrophe, reckless endangerment and disorderly conduct.
Johnston was later arraigned before Birdsboro District Judge David E. Glass and committed to Berks County Prison in lieu of $500,000 bail.
A hearing on the charges has been scheduled for February.