UPDATE: Standoff Ends Peacefully

UPDATED: 8:35 p.m., Saturday:

The suspect was taken into custody peacefully around 8:15 p.m., police told LevittownNow.com.

After not making contact with the suspect in about two hours, SWAT operators made entry to the home and searched until the suspect was found on the second-floor, Middletown Lt. Steve Forman said.

“He was cooperative,” he added.

The suspect was in the process of being taken to the police station before being transported to the hospital on a mental health hold, police said.

The suspect and all first responders were unhurt in the standoff.

UPDATED: 7:41 p.m., Saturday:

The standoff was still ongoing as of 7:30 p.m., police said.

The suspect who was still in the house had not contacted police in about an hour, Middletown police Lt. Steve Forman said. He added had previously been having regular contact with the suspect throughout the afternoon and evening.

Several cracks and loud bangs were heard coming home. Over a loudspeaker, negotiators said: “Dustin, come to one of the windows, we just want to see you.”

Forman said tear gas was deployed into the home.

Officers said they are prepared to wait out the standoff out through the night.

The suspect is a hunter but does not have a large amount of firearms, Forman said.

About 60 first responders were on the scene. A canteen truck from the Trevose Fire Company was at the scene and feeding emergency crews.

UPDATED: 4:34 p.m., Saturday: 

As of 4:30 p.m., police said they remained engaged in a standoff with a man holed up inside a rental property in Middletown.

Township police Lt. Steve Forman said the man is 42 years old and suffering a mental health crisis. He is armed and alone inside the rental home.

Around 3:20 p.m., a shot was fired “randomly” at officers by the man and struck a tree, Forman said. No injuries were reported.

Police negotiators were in contact with the man via text message and were also using a public address system to try to secure a peaceful ending.

Officers initially went to the man’s home after he contacted former girlfriends and posted worrying messages on Facebook. Once officers arrived, they realized there was a threat and the South Central Emergency Response Team was called into action around 1 p.m.

One of the South Central Emergency Response Team’s large MRAP trucks was stationed outside the home and officers with long guns  secured the perimeter. An armored Bearcat SWAT truck was used to ferry residents along Hulmeville Road from their homes to a temporary shelter that had opened at the Langhorne VFW on West Richardson Avenue in Langhorne Borough.

Police from more than a dozen area towns were called to the scene and had shut down Hulmeville Road between Gillam Avenue and Route 1.

“We are prepared to be here as long as we have to be,” Forman said, adding they are hoping for a peaceful resolution.

Original Post: 

First responders are on the scene of Hulmeville Road between Gillam Avenue and Route 1 in Middletown Township for reports of a standoff.

An armed standoff situation began at about 1 p.m.

SWAT operators had surrounded a home and were using a speaker system to try to contact the suspect.

As of this writing, no more information from officials was available.