UPDATE (WKOW) --- Police found a man dead inside a Columbia County home after an hours-long standoff with police.
Officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at a house in the 500 block of S. Birdsey St. around 6 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators said the victim fled the house and went to a neighbor's house after the altercation. When police arrived, the made refused to come out of the house.
“Upon the investigation, the officers determined that there was a very credible and very serious threat,” said Lt. Dennis Weiner of the Columbus Police Department.
The man held police at bay, which lead to the tense, hours-long standoff. The swat team tried to negotiate with the man as the standoff continued into the afternoon. They fired tear gas into the house to try to coerce the man out. After attempts at negotiations failed, the SWAT team moved in. That's when they found the mad dead inside.
“I did not realize how close it was until I saw the SWAT team basically in my backyard. So that was pretty scary knowing it was that close,” said neighbor Tracy Busse.
“The cops with their insurgent came up with the SWAT team and I heard flash bangs go off,” said Nicholas Phoeung, who lives about a block away.
Neighbors couldn't believe what was happening.
“I heard my son come out to the kitchen and he's like, 'Mom, mom, you've gotta come here,'” Busse said.
Police assured neighbors the area was now safe. But the standoff has left some of them rattled.
“We live on a quiet street. And we don't have this stuff happening,” Busse said.
“Now that I’m seeing it, I believe that it could happen anywhere at any time,” Phoeung said.
The domestic violence victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries at a local hospital and released. No children were hurt during the incident.
The identity of the man has not yet been released.