A tense police siege in Boronia ended with an arrest after specialist officers entered a home on Saturday morning.
Police responded to reports of a man behaving erratically on Woodmason Road shortly before 4.30am on the 20th of June.
Upon arrival, officers secured the scene and assessed the situation. Local residents were told to remain indoors for safety reasons.
Knox News spoke to a resident residing in a unit neighboring the siege:
“During the initial siege I was calm, locked down in my home on instruction of the police; and communicating with them about the scenario. I was later escorted from my abode and continued to aid police, by this stage I was somewhat bewildered and unsure of the likely outcome.”
Meanwhile, police safely removed two women from the property. Neither woman suffered injuries.
Officers began negotiating with the man after he barricaded himself inside the residence. However, police say the man remained hostile despite repeated attempts to resolve the incident peacefully.
As negotiations continued, specialist resources attended the scene to support local officers. Residents nearby watched as police maintained a presence throughout the morning.
As a result, police again established a cordon and attempted to negotiate with him.
After several hours without progress, specialist police entered the home about 9am. Officers apprehended the man without further incident and brought the siege to an end. Police identified the man as a 45-year-old Boronia resident.
He later underwent assessment before authorities released him. The incident however did not end there.
The man returned to his residence between 3.30pm and 4pm the same day. Shortly afterwards, he allegedly barricaded himself inside the home for a second time.
After another stand-off lasting about an hour, police took the man into custody.
Our concerned resident closely effected by the events added further comments after the afternoon developments:
“I was home when the individual returned again in the afternoon, l could barely believe what was happening, that he had been released to the community after the first siege. It seemed surreal. I immediately contacted authorities and running off of adrenaline, prepared for a possible physical confrontation with the individual”
Officers resolved the second incident without reports of injury. The man remains in custody and will spend the night as a guest of His Majesty.
