CUDAHY, Wis. — Cudahy police are searching for a suspect after he disappeared from a home during a standoff with officers Wednesday morning.
Police said in a statement that officers were called to a report of a domestic violence-related incident near Nicholson and Grange just after 11 a.m.
A woman reported the suspect strangled her, bit her face, and struck her multiple times in the face with a firearm. She was forced to escape by jumping out of the second-floor window of the apartment.
She told authorities that the suspect remained inside the apartment with the toddler-aged child of the woman. First responders brought her to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police found the child uninjured.
A number of area police agencies were called to the area. Officers first contacted the suspect by phone to begin negotiations. But the suspect repeatedly stopped talking to the police.
That's when members of the South Shore Joint Tactical Unit entered the home to rescue the child. They were able to bring the child to safety, but never found the suspect. It appears he left before officers entered.
Police are now actively searching for the suspect, described as being armed and dangerous. He is identified as 32-year-old Horactio L. Merrill, a convicted felon. Merrill is described by police as a Black man, 5'8 and 175 pounds with black hair, brown eyes.
Police said Thursday it is alleged he was a suspect in an incident that occurred at the same location on July 12 around 11:19 p.m. It involved him making threats and pointing a firearm during a domestic violence-related incident, police say.
The Cudahy Police are asking that anyone with any information contact the Cudahy Police Department at (414) 769-2260.