Police standoff locks down 3-block radius Monday night in SE Eugene
A 29-year-old Eugene man was arrested Monday night after an hours-long police standoff in southeast Eugene that began when he reportedly fired a gun from his house into the window of a neighboring one, injuring an occupant's face with broken glass.
Nicholas Gerber was arraigned Tuesday in Lane County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree felony assault, unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of recklessly endangering another person.
The 911 calls came in regarding shots fired in the 900 block of Snell Street around 5:10 p.m. Monday, according to the Eugene police news release.
Gerber lives at the house with his father, according to police.
Brandt Lewis, a 25-year-old who lives in a nearby house, said he wasn't sure at first that the loud noise he heard was a gunshot, before later hearing numerous police cars arrive.
"I was playing video games with my friends and it then it sounded like a very loud dumpster closing," Lewis said Tuesday. "There weren't any voices or anything, and all of a sudden I heard sirens."
Residents in the house that was shot sheltered in place, before being evacuated by police, according to the release.
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Gerber, who barricaded himself inside his home, had access to multiple firearms, including a handgun and a rifle, police spokeswoman Melinda McLaughlin said. No one else was inside the house, she said.
McLaughlin said the initial conflict began with a personal issue involving Gerber.
Police sent out an automatic phone message within a three-block radius for residents to shelter in place, while some others were evacuated, the release states. Streets around the incident, including East Amazon Drive from Snell Street to Dillard Road, were closed until close to midnight.
A SWAT team, along with a crisis negotiation and drone team, responded to the scene, along with medical responders from Eugene Springfield Fire.
During the response, Lewis in the neighboring house said two police officers armed with rifles knocked on his door and asked to use his balcony as a vantage point. From his house, Lewis said he was able to see a SWAT truck in the backyard and noted he later saw a flash before hearing a loud explosion
"I don't know if it was a flashbang or what, but it shook my house," he said. "I was staying away from the windows in case anything went down. I was popping up once in a while."
During the response, officers could be heard on a megaphone telling Gerber to exit the house.
For several hours, the crisis negotiation team tried over the phone to get the barricaded man to come out, and eventually a search warrant was granted by a judge, the release said. At 11:44 p.m., the SWAT team was able to safely remove Gerber from the house.
Gerber is in Lane County Jail, and his next court date is Dec. 22.
Louis Krauss covers breaking news for The Register-Guard. Contact him at lkrauss@registerguard.com or 541-521-2498, and follow him on Twitter @LouisKraussNews.
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Police standoff locks down 3-block radius Monday in Eugene
