Why do people locked in their houses with guns become "standoffs"?

[Critters2]

I thought about this the other day. I was driving back to the office from the hospital, and there was a report on the radio saying police in a city near here were involved in a standoff. They said the "suspect's" father had called police and told them this guy had several guns and had locked himself in his house. The report then said police had the house surrounded and had evacuated the block.

So, I'm thinkin' to myself, why can't the guy be in his house with guns? Lots of people have guns, have their doors locked and aren't surrounded by police. Is that because their dads haven't called the cops yet?

I mean, what am I missing?

[Lethe]

1. um, the guy has guns and won't cooperate with the police

hence, a standoff

:shrug:

the police feel uncomfortable when you have guns and don't cooperate with them

[SteppingRazor]

2. Yeah, they can't beat the hell out of you the way they do uncooperative people who don't have guns

:evilgrin:


Of course, generally speaking, it ends even worse for the people who are armed.

[skygazer]

3. Depends on what he's doing in his locked house with his guns

I mean, if he's just in there cleaning his guns naked and doesn't feel like having company, no big deal. If he's threatening to kill himself or blast the neighborhood - well, the cops get a little touchy about things like that.

If his father called the police about it, I suspect he's doing more than just admiring his hunting rifles.

[tigereye]

4. they usually are using said guns to threaten someone

And usually some folks will be worried about said person in said house with guns. Probably fear of the person harming himself as well.


but your question raises an interesting point.

[benEzra]

5. I read a story a while back...

in which a father called the police and told them his adult son was depressed, and owned guns. Police surrounded the house and turned it into a major standoff. Guy wasn't suicidal, wasn't interested in shooting ANYBODY, just wanted to be alone with his thoughts for a while, and didn't want to answer his dad's repeated phone calls. The standoff ended peacefully, but the OMG-he-owns-guns-call-the-police reaction was definitely not warranted.