UPDATE: Tuscaloosa, Alabama Motel 6 Standoff Suspects in Police Custody
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Brent Blankley addressed members of the media Monday after a multi-hour motel standoff ended with both suspects in police custody.
"A little before 8 o'clock this morning, TPD received a call of multiple shots being fired at the Motel 6 parking lot," he said after the scene had been cleared. "Once we responded to the scene, we found a dog that was killed in the middle of the parking lot. It was determined that a burglary had occurred, we tracked the burglary suspects back to the [motel room,] and at that point, they had barricaded themselves inside the [motel room.]"
The original 911 call came in at 7:23 a.m. Monday. One of the suspects had already surrendered upon the police's arrival.
Blankley explained that the unidentified suspect refused to come out, so Tuscaloosa Police's Special Response Team sent multiple rounds of tear gas inside the room.
"The suspect came out, surrendered into custody without any incident, all officers went home safe and the suspect is going to jail," Blankley said.
Blankley said one of TPD's biggest sources of pride is its Special Response Team, a group of tactical investigators who are trained to deal with high-intensity situations like hostages and standoffs.
"They're very slow and very methodical with everything they do," he said. "We give the suspect multiple chances to surrender. At that point, we use less-than-lethal options. Once that room was full of tear gas, the suspect came out. His eyes will be burning for a little bit but he will be OK."
The chief asserted that TPD "never wants anything to end badly for any suspect," and lethal options are never ideal.
Both suspects are currently facing burglary charges, with more to follow.
Both suspects' identities are being withheld until they can be confirmed by authorities. More details on the suspects' identities and charges will be provided by The Tuscaloosa Thread as that information becomes available.
The Tuscaloosa Thread's Stephen Dethrage was on the scene of the conclusion of the standoff. Check it out here: