Indiana University police announced just before 2 a.m. that an hours-long standoff at the Indiana Memorial Union ended without injury and with one person in custody. Police were still investigating into the early morning hours at the Union building. That’s where they say a man barricaded himself inside a hotel room late last night, leading to the standoff.
University officials identified the arrested man as Cecil L. Gilbert. No weapons were discovered in the room, despite earlier reports the man was armed.
Officials say the incident began with a call to IU police about a person making threats from a room on the first floor of the Biddle Hotel, which is inside the IMU. They said the room was not registered to a guest and that the man refused to come out.
Police soon surrounded the building and warned the public to stay away. They also evacuated guests from the hotel as the standoff continued.
Inside, an IU spokesperson said police secured the first floor hallway and called critical incident response officers and negotiators to the scene. The official said the police eventually resorted to unspecified “non-lethal techniques” to gain entry.
A WFIU reporter heard alarms and smelled tear gas shortly after the arrest. Police officers were also coughing as they departed the building.
Tear gas could be smelled in the air and fire alarms were flashing as police in tactical gear returned to their patrol cars.
— Brock E.W. Turner (@BrockEWTurner) January 4, 2022
Here’s video as responders depart the scene tonight at the Indiana Memorial Union where a man barricaded himself in a hotel room for around 5 hrs. pic.twitter.com/sIRS0BvpcN