After a tense, hours-long standoff in a South Portland basement, police took a knife-wielding man into custody early Saturday morning. According to KOIN, the ordeal began just after 11:30 p.m. Friday, when officers were dispatched to the 2400 block of Southwest 5th Avenue upon receiving reports of banging sounds. The suspect was found to have broken into the basement of a home, which had been segmented into apartments, refusing orders to emerge.
Residents were swiftly evacuated for their safety, and a specialized response team was called to the scene, during the blockade streets were shut down and Portland Fire & Rescue stood by with hoses at the ready as the man, later identified as Aaron Onufrock, age 55, seemed to fan the flames of a self-started fire, an apt metaphor for the spiraling chaos that had unfurled that night - info shared by KATU.
The Portland Police Bureau tried for hours to negotiate with a man barricaded inside a building. After using pepper spray and irritant gas, he finally dropped his knife and surrendered around 6:40 a.m. He was checked by medical personnel and then charged with first-degree burglary, arson, mischief, criminal trespass, and third-degree theft, as per KGW.
After the standoff, signs about the irritant gases used by police were still on the doors of the house. Neighbors, like Ali Beiglari, talked to KGW about how they had to wait outside for hours and some had to find hotel rooms because of the strong smell of gas. Luckily, no one was injured during the incident.
