Griffith Standoff Ends With Man Dead, Hostages Released

Authorities were called to the home on the 1000 block of North Jay Street early Friday morning

A hostage/barricade situation in Northwest Indiana ended Friday morning with one man dead and three hostages, including a young girl, released to safety.

The incident began on the 1000 block of North Jay Avenue, in Griffith, at about 1:30 a.m. after police received a call.

Responding officers said they received no response when they knocked on the door but saw three adults, one of whom was putting a gun in his waistband, when they peered through the window.

Police said they called in backup, which included members of the Northwest Regional SWAT team, and cordoned off the home. Negotiations with the man inside the home involved an FBI negotiator, officials said.

Two adults were later released, but a 6-year-old girl remained inside with the man with the gun, police said. Continued negotiations later turned hostile, police said, and a robot was sent into the home.

"We called a neighboring department -- Munster Police Department -- that has a tactical robot. The robot was placed inside the home. The robot secured the main level of the home, and showed there was no subject on that main floor, and the SWAT team entered, located the girl, and safely brought her outside," said Griffith Police Chief Greg Mance.

The robot later checked the lower level of the home and found a 32-year-old man dead of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.

The three hostages who were released were reportedly OK late Friday morning. One of the hostages was believed to be the mother of the young girl. Their names were not publicly released as of 11 a.m.

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