MISSOULA – We are following up on Thursday's standoff in the South Hills.
The situation lasted nearly 24 hours and required the Missoula Police Department's SWAT team to be relieved by Missoula County and Kalispell teams.
The Missoula Police Department started receiving phone calls around 7 p.m. on Wednesday about a man threatening a neighborhood. Court documents state several residents in the 100 block of Black Pine had called dispatch regarding what one caller said could be a "possible shooter situation."
When the Missoula Police officers arrived on the scene, the man —identified as Scott McKinney — barricaded himself in the house.
"When police tried to have contact with McKinney, he locked himself in his residence and would not cooperate with police or their desire to speak with him,” Missoula Police Department spokeswoman Lydia Arnold said.
Officers tried to negotiate with McKinney, but he would not leave the residence.
"Based on the totality of the crimes that they were investigating and the severity that they were violent felony crimes, as well as intel gathered on McKinney MPD, SWAT team was called out," Arnold said.
The incident would continue for hours, resulting in Missoula County and Kalispell's SWAT team being called in to relieve Missoula Police. Almost a full day after the situation started, McKinney surrendered and was arrested.
"We're going to take the advantage of time, and sometimes that does inconvenience people or people who live on that block, or bus routes, your commute route, but it's really important for us to give these situations the time that they need,” Arnold explained.
McKinney is being charged with one felony count of assault with a weapon with his bond set at $250,000.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
Click here to view the court documents associated with the case (pdf).
