Man in SWAT standoff in critical condition

A 29-year-old man who shot himself in the head after a four-hour standoff with the Chattanooga police SWAT team is in critical condition at Erlanger hospital.

The man, whose name was not released by police, was wanted on warrants of filing a false report and leaving the scene of an accident, police spokeswoman Sgt. Jerri Weary said.

Officers arrived at the 1116 Wheeler Ave. house at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday to arrest him on charges that stemmed from a traffic crash Monday.

The man has a criminal and mental health history, including weapons charges and multiple “driving issues that range from the sublime to the ridiculous,” Weary said.

When the man refused to leave the house and officers learned of his history they used a “SWAT matrix” system that assigns points based on information known to officers and called in negotiators and SWAT.

Soon after their arrival, police learned the man had a revolver and his girlfriend was in the house.

The woman, who left the house about 2:30 p.m., was not identified by police but told them she had stayed inside to try to calm the man.

Throughout the standoff neighbors grew impatient with being unable to reach their homes, and schoolchildren waited as many attempted to see what was happening in the house.

SWAT members parked a bulletproof tactical vehicle in the front yard and used a loud speaker in an attempt to get the man outside.

“We’re not here to hurt you. Come on out,” an officer repeatedly told the man.

After three hours of negotiations police firirf tear gas canisters into the housee. Officers fired at least 10 canisters during the standoff.

Just before 4 p.m. the SWAT team entered the house and found the man with a gunshot wound. A trauma surgeon who works with SWAT assisted the man and officers loaded him onto a gurney as emergency medical personnel performed CPR and had him taken to Erlanger.

Within moments of the man’s being loaded into an ambulance, residents stuck in their homes all day stepped outside.

Melissa Kraft ran down Wheeler Avenue, arms open wide as she hugged two of her children, 6-year-old Erik and 9-year-old Heidi.

The children’s father, Kelly Kraft, stood on the porch of his home two doors down from where the four-hour ordeal took place and said at first he didn’t know what was happening outside his home because he was playing a first-person shooter video game where radio calls, gunshots and explosions echoed from the TV speakers.