CARY, N.C. (WNCN) — A police standoff at a Cary apartment continues.
Cary and Raleigh police, the FBI and Wake County deputies were camped out outside of the Windsor at Tryon Village Apartments since 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Cary Police Chief Terry Sult said an 11-year-old boy was held hostage by a man in an apartment.
They believe the man is suffering from a mental health crisis.
A SWAT team, police officers and deputies, armed with long guns, walked around the apartment complex.
A mobile command center was set up at the La-Z-Boy furniture on Walnut Street.
The large police presence was active for more than 15 hours outside of Jay Smith’s home.
“It’s scary,” he said.
Cary police said they got a call to do a welfare check at an apartment Tuesday night due to some family concerns.
Smith left his house Wednesday morning and was not able to get back.
“That turned into a hostage situation with a juvenile hostage an individual in crisis,” Sult said. “The building, 4000, which was the place it happened, they evacuated everybody out of there,” Smith said.
Officers blocked the entrance to and from the complex for their safety.
“My wife is locked in the apartment. I kept calling her, letting her know ‘you’re ok, they’ve surrounded the building,'” Smith said.
Nearly 12 hours after the initial welfare check, officers were able to rescue the 11-year-old boy.
“He has two wounds. One on his arm, one on his neck,” Sult said. “They’re minor injuries.”
Police/EMS Radio Traffic provided more details.
“Is an officer with you?” a dispatcher is heard asking an official on scene. “Can you or the officer ask the child what kind of weapon he was shot with?”
“He said it was a rifle,” said the official, on the radio.
The FBI took over negotiations with the male suspect 10 hours after Cary police started.
Officers worked most of Wednesday to keep everyone safe.
“[We’re now] focusing on crisis intervention. There is still some risk for people in the nearby area here, so we have to take that into consideration,” Sult said.
He said they sent out multiple messages to residents early Wednesday morning, letting them know they needed to shelter in place.
Sult said school buses dropped off students at a different location in the afternoon. Parents were informed of the changes and were accompanied by police officers.
Officials said they used Wake Government emergency management notifications to alert people in the complex.
No one who CBS 17 spoke with received the messages.
Sult said their priority is everyone’s safety.
“As long as we have good dialogue going on, we will work to that, but obviously at some point we have to make some decisions,” he explained “As long as we feel like there’s good progress going on, our interest in his safety is important as anyone elses’ because we’re dealing with a crisis.
Additionally, Cary police said it will be holding a press conference at 7:45 p.m. as “we are wrapping up police operations here off of Walnut Street,” they said.
Kayla Morton contributed to this article.
