Gunman Refuses to Come Out | Video

| 12/19/2012

A standoff went on all day in New Town, North Dakota, and continued into Wednesday night. Late Tuesday night, police responded to a hostage situation after an armed man barricaded himself inside a home with three people. He released the hostages a short time later but he refused to come out.

Emergency crews have been in place outside the home on 9th Street since 5:00 a.m. A negotiating team hasn`t been able to talk the man out. The nearby middle school and the high school were in lockdown mode all day. Students were eventually dismissed at 3:00 p.m.

"Where this situation happened to be about three blocks north of the high school, we felt in the best interest of the school that the risk assessment was low," said New Town Superintendent Marc Bluestone. "And so we felt that we could have school but just to be on the safe side, we wanted to be under lockdown. And we, our safety protocol was in the best interest and safety of our kids. If I felt that the kids could not, that I could not guarantee safety of staff and kids, we wouldn`t have held school today."

"It`s pretty scary, it`s really too close to home," said parent Misty Houle. "We used to feel so safe here, and now we don`t know."

Administrators plan to hold classes tomorrow.

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