Standoff in Austintown ends with no injuries, 30-year-old in custody

AUSTINTOWN — A 30-year-old man is in custody after police were notified that he was making threats and armed inside his home.

At about 10 a.m. today, Austintown police and members of the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force surrounded 5050 Kirk Road and attempted for nearly an hour to coax the man, whose name hasn’t been released, out of his third-floor apartment.

Capt. Brian Kloss of the Austintown Police Department said the man made comments to his counselor that he’d taken an excess of drugs and wanted to harm himself. Kloss said the man claimed to have an assault rifle with him.

“He threatened to harm anyone who tried to help him,” he said.

At about 11 a.m., police, with the help of the counselor, were able to peacefully take the man into custody. He was transported to St. Elizabeth Health Center in Youngstown for evaluation, Kloss said.

He said the house contains two other apartments, and it’s not known if anyone else was inside the building at the time of the incident. No one was injured.