Police end hostage standoff in New Jersey; suspect dead

NEWARK, New Jersey (Reuters) - A tense weekend standoff in a South Trenton, New Jersey, neighborhood ended early on Sunday when police took a man into custody after he held several children hostage for about 36 hours.

"The hostage situation has been resolved," State Police Sergeant Adam Grossman told Reuters. "The children are safe."

Grossman said the suspect was taken into custody at 3:45 a.m. EDT (0745 GMT), but declined to comment on his identity or any other details of the standoff.

The man barricaded himself inside a house in the New Jersey state capital on Friday afternoon after police were called to do a wellness check on a resident at the address, a Trenton police spokesman said on Friday.

On Saturday, the Times of Trenton cited two unidentified law enforcement sources as saying police officers checking on the house had discovered the partially decomposed body of the man's girlfriend, but pulled back when they saw he had a gun.

The newspaper also reported that one of the woman's children was killed and that the man was holding three more of her children inside the house. A fifth child, age 19, was reportedly safe at another location with relatives.

State police said tactical units, including hostage negotiators, canine units and SWAT teams, were on the scene. Federal investigators and hostage negotiators were assisting state police, according to the FBI.

Grossman said additional information would be released at a news conference in Trenton at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT).

A spokesman for the Trenton police could not immediately be reached on Sunday morning.

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Gunman dead, officer wounded in Georgia hostage situation

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A gunman who held four Georgia firefighters hostage on Wednesday in a suburban Atlanta home has died and an officer was wounded after an exchange of gunfire as authorities moved in to free the captives, police said.

The firefighters, taken captive after responding to what appeared to be a medical call, suffered minor injuries from an explosive device that was used in their rescue, Gwinnett County police spokesman Edwin Ritter told a news conference.

The man, who police have not identified, apparently had been in financial troubles and demanded his power, cable television and cell phone service be restored, Ritter said.

"He wanted all those things turned back on," Ritter said. "That's why he was holding them hostage."

The gunman had initially also held a fifth firefighter captive in the home in Suwanee, about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta, but let that person leave to move a fire truck, police and fire department officials said.

A SWAT unit entered the house after deciding the lives of the firefighters were in imminent danger, Ritter said.

During the rescue effort, the firefighters received superficial wounds and an officer sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the arm or hand, Ritter said.

The police spokesman could not immediately say whether the suspect died as a result of gunshots by law enforcement or a self-inflicted wound.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and David Beasley in Atlanta; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Steve Orlofsky, Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker)

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Gunman holding firemen hostage killed

SUWANEE, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say a gunman holding four firefighters in suburban Atlanta has been shot dead by SWAT members and that all the hostages are slightly injured but should be OK.

Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Edwin Ritter said Wednesday evening that a SWAT officer has been shot in the hand.

Minutes before the police announcement, one big explosion followed by several smaller ones or gunshots were heard in the Suwanee neighborhood about 35 miles northeast of Atlanta.

Police and fire officials say five firefighters responded to what seemed like a routine medical call in Suwanee and were eventually taken hostage by an unidentified suspect inside the house. They say one was let go to move the fire truck.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

Four firefighters who responded to what seemed like a routine medical call were being held hostage Wednesday by a gunman who has barricaded himself in a home in suburban Atlanta, authorities said.

Five firefighters responded to the call in Suwanee and were eventually taken hostage by an unidentified suspect inside the house, Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Edwin Ritter said. The gunman released one of the firefighters to move a fire truck.

Authorities were not releasing information on what happened inside the home, but did say it doesn't appear any of the firefighters has been hurt.

The gunman's motive was unclear to police and fire officials, and a SWAT team and negotiator have made contact with the suspect.

Fire department Capt. Tommy Rutledge said the medical call seemed routine and firefighters did not believe there was any danger. One engine and one ambulance responded.

"Right now we just want our firefighters to be released. We want them to be able to go home safe to their families," Rutledge told WSB-TV.

Television helicopter footage showed police and fire trucks surrounding the neighborhood of mostly two-story homes and well-kept lawns about 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Residents were not being allowed in to their neighborhood. About 50 bystanders gathered outside the subdivision while police and SWAT officials surrounded the house. According to public records, the home is in foreclosure and has been bank-owned since mid-November.

The firefighters are cross-trained as emergency medical technicians, said Rutledge, who would not speculate on whether there was a real emergency at the home.

"Our firefighters responded to a call they respond to hundreds of times, and that's a medical emergency," he said.

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Lucas reported from Atlanta.

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