WASHINGTON — A standoff between police and a man on rooftops in Northwest D.C. ended early Wednesday morning. Police say the man, who has not been identified, came down of his own accord around 1 a.m.
The whole incident lasted about nine hours. What was first reported as an active barricade situation turned into a person in crisis incident in Northwest D.C. after a man reportedly fired a gun Wednesday afternoon.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, a man fired a gun, which led officers to be dispatched just before 4 p.m. to Kennedy Street Northwest and Georgia Avenue Northwest.
A short time later, at the scene, officers declared a barricade situation just a few blocks away on Jefferson Street Northwest where the man was suspected to be on the roof.
Police were able to recover the gun linked to the situation but determined the man could be having a mental health crisis. The man was seen exposing himself, walking from roof to roof in a neighborhood, climbing power lines and trees.
A worried crowd looked on as police handled the situation. Officers worked to assure people at the scene that they had mental health professionals helping to assist the unidentified man.
The DC Fire Department also arrived at the scene around 6 p.m. with a ladder to help get the man down from the area he had climbed.
Police closed roads in the area as they worked to investigate the situation.
After several hours, police say the situation was resolved when the man came down from the rooftops on his own. Captain John Terry, Watch Commander with MPD's Fourth District, said the man was arrested without incident and taken to a local hospital for a routine check-up. He is being charged with assault on a police officer while armed with a gun, unlawful possession of a weapon and burglary two.
Terry said the man was likely under the influence at the time, but did not say what the man may have been on. The man will face a litany of charges, including assault on a police officer, possession of a handgun without a license, indecent exposure and destruction of property, Terry said.
Police say no one was injured in the hours-long incident. All roads that were closed for the investigation have since reopened.