A Council Bluffs man is facing multiple charges after police say he pointed a pistol at an employee outside a mental health drop-in center on Thursday and threatened to shoot him, triggering a standoff that ended with his arrest hours later at a nearby home.
Police say the incident happened shortly before 1 p.m. Thursday in the parking lot of the Heartland Family Services Peer Center, according to WOWT. An employee at the center said they saw Edward Peters driving a truck and yelling at a client before the confrontation escalated.
The employee, identified as George McGinness, told Peters to leave the property, the station reported. Police say Peters then allegedly pointed a pistol at the employee and threatened to shoot him before driving away from the center.
Police Describe a Threat Through a Truck Window
According to a separate account from Western Iowa Today, the suspect allegedly pointed a black, semi-automatic-style pistol at McGinness through the passenger window and threatened to shoot him before leaving the scene. The same report says officers used witness statements and a photo lineup to identify Edward Peters as the man involved.
No injuries were reported in the encounter, per the same account. Heartland Family Service describes its Peer Support center on its website as a peer drop-in center, run by peer support staff, for anyone with a mental health diagnosis.
Standoff Ends With Emergency Team Entry
After identifying Peters, officers located him inside a residence. Crisis negotiators used a vehicle public address system to announce their presence and order Peters to exit peacefully, but received no response, the report states. Officers then obtained a search warrant for the residence and an arrest warrant for Peters.
The Emergency Services Team subsequently entered the residence and found Peters inside, taking him into custody without further incident described in the report.
Charges Filed, Booking Confirmed
Peters was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, harassment in the first degree, and interference with official acts, and officers booked him into the Pottawattamie County Jail, the outlet's report states. Under Iowa law, harassment in the first degree is classified as an aggravated misdemeanor, according to the Iowa Legislature.
Council Bluffs police have not released additional details about what prompted the confrontation between Peters and the client he was allegedly yelling at before the gun was displayed. The case remains under the jurisdiction of local authorities, and no further information on its status has been made public.
