SWAT standoff in East Oak Lane ends with suspect in custody after assault report
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police and SWAT officers shut down a section of Old York Road in East Oak Lane for hours after a reported assault inside a home led to a barricade situation, authorities said.
The incident unfolded on the 7000 block of Old York Road after neighbors reported hearing a woman being attacked by her roommate.
Police, firefighters and counterterrorism agents surrounded the home for more than three hours as the scene developed.
Action News was on scene as the suspect was taken into custody. The woman who owns the home, Kathleen Scott, said the man at the center of the standoff had been renting a room in her house for the past eight years.
"He's been staying with me, but lately, the past two days, he's been going crazy," Scott said.
Scott said the situation escalated late this morning while she was inside the home.
"He pushed me and he slapped me. He spit in my face like six times, and told me I'm white trash," she said.
According to Scott, neighbors heard the disturbance and called police. The response quickly expanded, shutting down traffic along Old York Road as law enforcement worked to resolve what became a barricade situation.
Scott described the ordeal as frightening.
"He threatened to burn my house down, kill me, kill my family, kill my brother, kill my sister," she said.
In the end, police said the suspect surrendered without incident.
Scott said she believes her roommate suffers from a mental illness and became involved in local drug activity.
"We would get along okay, like I said, but whatever drugs that are circulating around us are bad. And that's what this all is," she said.
No charges have been filed pending a psychological evaluation.
