Utica, N.Y. — A Utica man took his wife hostage Monday before engaging in a hours-long standoff with police, officials said.
Police were called around 12:45 p.m. to the 1100 block of Linwood Place for a report of a man armed with a shotgun and knife, Utica police said in a news release.
A family member had already disarmed Kyaw Moe Koo, 51, of the shotgun when officers arrived, but he used the knife to force his wife into the home’s bedroom, police said.
There, he barricaded himself for hours, threatening to harm himself and his wife, police said.
Police secured the rest of the house and surrounded it, police said. Negotiations failed and police instead opted to distract Koo by speaking with him through the bedroom window while SWAT members attempt to take him into custody, they said.
SWAT members broke down the door and flooded the room, police said. Koo was arrested without issue and his wife was taken to a safe location, they said.
Koo was charged with:
- First-degree unlawful imprisonment
- First-degree criminal contempt
- Fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon
- Second-degree menacing
Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him: Email | Twitter or at 315-690-6950.