Kentucky police in standoff with military veteran barricaded in home

   Cara Owsley / The (Cincinnati) EnquirerPolice in Covington, Ky., engaged in a standoff with a military veteran Saturday at his home south of Cincinnati.By Erik Ortiz, Staff Writer, NBC NewsAn armed military veteran suffering an “emotional crisis” was arrested Sunday after barricading himself and his children for nearly an entire day inside of his northern Kentucky home, at one point firing at cops outside, police said.The home, in the Cincinnati suburb of Covington, Ky., was set on fire just before the standoff with Michael Vaughan, 43, ended around 1 p.m. ET, police said. Fire crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze, reported NBC affiliate WLWT.Vaughan surrendered after exchanging gunfire with police, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer. A bullet struck his arm, and he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for treatment, the newspaper said.Once released, he could face several charges, including attempted murder of a police officer, Covington Police Chief Spike Jones told The Enquirer.Police first responded to the home at 4 p.m. Saturday on a distress call.They learned the man had three children with him: a 5-year-old son, 11-year-old daughter and a 15-year-old son with autism, The Enquirer said.On Sunday morning, police were successfully able to negotiate the release of the man's three young children from the home.The children were recovered unharmed just before 8:30 a.m. and put inside an armored vehicle.Jones declined to say how many other people might also have been inside the home.He told reporters early Sunday that authorities had been monitoring the man’s Facebook page, which described his fragile state and the arrival of a SWAT team. The page has since been taken down, and police wouldn’t immediately verify his identity.“We understand that this gentleman is a decorated combat veteran of our United States military service and we want to afford him the benefits of what he’s earned and make sure ... we get him the assistance he needs,” Jones said.He added that police had contacted the Department of Veterans Affairs.The situation escalated around 8 p.m. Saturday, when the disturbed vet first shot at cops from an elevated position, police said.More gunfire was heard from inside the home at around 4:15 a.m. Sunday.As the standoff stretched into its 20th hour by noon Sunday, residents of the Latonia neighborhood were ordered to stay inside their homes and away from windows.

Suspected robber kills self inside store after 5-hour standoff

  By Samantha Tata, Ryan Bourgard and Kate Larsen, NBCLosAngelesAn armed man who barricaded himself inside a wireless store within a Southern California shopping center for hours after he allegedly robbed a nearby business has taken his own life, authorities said.After a nearly six-hour standoff, tactical team entered a Connect Wireless store Friday night to find the man "deceased apparently by his own hand," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Crescenta Valley Station said in a tweet.No shots were fired by authorities on scene, the department added.Officials received a report of a man with a gun about 4 p.m. at The Marketplace Shopper Center (map), located in the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard in La Crescenta. News broke shortly before 10 p.m. that the barricaded man had died.The owner of Connect Wireless told NBC4 two of her employees were inside the store when the man entered and threatened to take them hostage, but the workers ran out the front door the first chance they could.No hostages were taken, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Crescenta Valley Station said.The situation unfolded inside The Marketplace Shopping Center, which also houses a Ralphs, Rite Aid, U.S. Bank and Starbucks, among other shops. Shoppers were seen running from Rite Aid and Ralphs Friday evening as authorities slowly evacuated the plaza.Rite Aid employees told NBC4 a man went into the store's pharmacy, demanded a prescription and showed a gun. When a worker gave the man the pills he asked for, the robber ran from the store.A 1-block stretch of Foothill Boulevard between Raymond and Rosemont avenues had been closed for the investigation. Sheriff's officials said all streets around the shopping center were reopened about 10:15 p.m.The chaos developed the day during Black Friday, when consumers were set to take advantage of longer store hours and steep discounts to start the holiday shopping season.Dozens of cars were in the plaza's parking lot when the situation began. A sheriff’s deputy with a rifle was seen stationed outside the doors of a Ralphs grocery store next door to the wireless store.It was previously reported that the store involved in the barricade is a Verizon location, but rather, it belongs to Connect Wireless, a third-party vendor that sells Verizon products, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesman.When the report first came in, everyone in surrounding stores had been ordered to shelter in place. At about 5:30 p.m., the Rite Aid inside the shopping complex was evacuated. Shortly before 7 p.m., the Ralphs was evacuated. By 8 p.m., the center had been emptied and shut down, the sheriff's department said in a tweet.Members of the sheriff department's Special Enforcement Bureau -- the equivalent of a SWAT team -- responded to the scene. An armored vehicle was stationed outside the Connect Wireless storefront.