UPDATE at 5:00 p.m. CST on April 17, 2024: Appleton Police took to social media, confirming the 41-year-old man who held up in an apartment building has been taken into custody. Roads are supposed to open shortly.
APPLETON, Wis. — Now in the slow process of negotiations, Appleton Police are surrounding an apartment building on the 1200-block of E Northland Ave this afternoon for reports of a 41-year-old man who has threatened officers in a situation that began to unfold last night.
According to comments made by Officer Todd Freeman of the Appleton Police Department, the situation began to unfold shortly before Midnight on Tuesday night, when concerned callers told authorities about an intoxicated man who was leaving home, expected to head further north with a handgun.
Eventually, law enforcement in that area made contact with the man and ultimately could not take any further steps since they were merely conducting a welfare check with no apparent crime committed. That changed when the man returned home, still seemingly intoxicated and armed, around 1:10 p.m. CST this afternoon.
The apartment building has since been evacuated to protect those residing there. The suspect has since made threats to officers, escalating this from a welfare situation to a criminal situation. It also remains unclear whether the firearm he is allegedly armed with was obtained legally, but Appleton Police say this individual has some recorded history with police.
As a result of this ongoing situation, Northland Ave has been blocked off near the site of the standoff. Appleton authorities have received help from the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office and other neighboring agencies, who provided an additional rescue vehicle and have helped with other calls during this process.
This is a developing news story. An update and/or follow-up may be issued when further details are revealed.
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