A 17-hour standoff in West Point came to an end as an arrest of a Blair man was made Dec. 15. Troopers from the Nebraska State Patrol SWAT Team made the arrest.
The suspect, James Hynes, 70, of Blair, was arrested for making terroristic threats and obstruction. Additional charges are pending.
Hynes was medically cleared at the West Point hospital, and then booked at the Thurston County Jail.
According to a report from the Nebraska State Patrol, a call for assistance was received at approximately 5 a.m. from the Cuming County Sheriff’s Office, who reported a person threatening self-harm at a location just west of West Point.
The Sheriff’s Office obtained information that the subject was in possession of multiple firearms and had threatened to harm others the prior week.
The State Patrol released the following report:
“Troopers, Sheriff’s deputies and the West Point Police Department set up a perimeter around the area, which was a field west of the Elkhorn River. Authorities determined that the subject was using a deer blind as shelter.
"Crisis Negotiators contacted the subject, but communication was sporadic throughout the day. Because of the location, authorities determined that there was no danger posed to bystanders or the town of West Point.
"Troopers utilized drones at times to monitor the situation from a safe distance. Shortly after 2 p.m., the subject exited the deer blind with a firearm and shot down an NSP drone. The subject fired several more rounds throughout the incident and made additional threatening statements.”
This led to an arrest warrant being issued and NSP SWAT Team being activated. The SWAT team used two NSP armored vehicles, known as MRAPs.
As they approached the deer blind, the NSP report stated:
“The suspect continued to fire rounds. After the suspect again refused to exit the deer blind, chemical munitions were deployed, but the suspect still refused to exit. At approximately 10 p.m., the SWAT Team utilized an MRAP to push the deer blind onto its side. At that point, the suspect surrendered and was taken into custody without incident.”
No law enforcement officers were injured during this incident.
Assisting the Nebraska State Patrol were the West Point Police Department, Cuming County Sheriff’s Office and West Point Rescue.
