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Armed Elderly Suspect Taken To Mental Health Facility After 8-Hour Standoff

UPPER MORELAND, Pa. (CBS) -- A local retirement home was the scene of an eight hour standoff as an elderly resident with a handgun held police officers at bay.

The entire ordeal lasted a total of eight hours, as police were initially called to the Gloria Dei Manor Retirement Homes on Davisville Road to investigate a car in the parking lot that had a bullet hole.

During the course of the investigation police determined that a 69-year-old resident of the home might be a possible suspect. Police say the suspect was a neighbor of the man who own the damaged vehicle.

As police questioned the suspect, the chief says he became irate and mention he owned a handgun.

"He became very argumentative and irrational and just acting oddly," said Upper Moreland Police Chief Thomas Nestle.

The suspect demanded a search warrant for the officers to enter his apartment. Officers stayed outside in the hallway while the suspect stayed in his room with his wife.

Police were able to get the wife out of the room with the help of a relative.

A negotiator was called to assist in trying to get the suspect out of his room, discussions lasting nearly eight hours.

According to police, a few nearby residents were evacuated for their safety.

Finally, just before 8:30 p.m. police got into the apartment using a key and were able to take the suspect into custody.

"He was screaming at officers and very irrational, however he didn't do anything to threaten them," said Nestle.

The 69-year-old suspect's name has not yet been released and he has not been charged. Police say he was taken into the care of a mental health facility in Norristown.

Reported by Valerie Levesque, CBS 3

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