Appleton police talk down armed man from St. Bernadette Parish campus building roof
APPLETON - Appleton police took an armed man into custody Thursday afternoon after a two-hour standoff as the man was on the roof of a St. Bernadette Parish campus building at 1213 S. Matthias St., on Appleton's east side.
Assistant Police Chief Polly Olson said the department got a call at about 10:15 a.m. that a subject with a weapon was inside the building. At some point, the subject pointed a gun at someone inside the church and at himself, and then went on top of the roof.
While on the roof, the man fired two shots into the air, Olson said.
At about 12:45 p.m., police said they had taken the man into custody peacefully and transported to the Outagamie County Jail, where they're working to provide mental health services to the man. Olson said the APD was familiar with him.
"Officers actually established a dialogue with him early on in the time that he was up on the roof," she said.
The man didn't have any prior connection to the church, Lt. Meghan Cash said Friday afternoon, but the situation began at Iris Place, a building on the church's campus that "provides a safe and welcoming environment that offers an opportunity for individuals experiencing emotional distress or crisis to grow and change."
Officers went into the surrounding buildings and stayed with the occupants of those building for the duration of the call. Cash said she didn't know exactly how many people were inside the nearby buildings.
The department had posted on social media that officers are "dealing with an active incident" near the 1200 block of South Matthias Street. It urged people to stay away from the area.
Johnston Elementary School and Appleton East High School, which are in the neighborhood, were locked down at about 10:30 a.m. The lockdown at East was lifted for a brief time but reimposed at about 11:40 a.m.
Both lockdowns, as well as a shelter-in-place order for the neighborhood, were lifted after the man was taken into custody.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton police talk down armed man from roof at St. Bernadette Parish
