VILLAGE OF FREDONIA, Wis. — A police standoff lasting nearly 38 hours left people in one Ozaukee County neighborhood sheltering in their homes, with the sound of sirens and gunshots persisting overnight Saturday.
The Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) responded to a home on Fox Glen Rd. in Fredonia Thursday after several neighbors reported hearing gunshots coming from the residence.
The ordeal was too close for comfort for Joan Gaedtke, who lives next door to the suspect and spent more than 24 hours hiding in her basement.
"I'm still shaken up to know that guy did all of this," Gaedtke said. "It was a situation I don’t ever want to be in again.”
Authorities said the suspect, who was since taken into custody, was armed with multiple firearms and barricaded himself inside the home while making repeated threats to kill officers on the scene.
“They kept yelling to him, if you give yourself up, you have a chance,” she recalled. “We're not going to shoot you."
Authorities said for hours, despite their repeated commands to surrender, and “tactical measures” used to de-escalate, the suspect remained armed, refusing to come out peacefully.
"He was just shooting, shooting all over, shooting all over,” Gaedtke said.
She told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin — while scared for her own life — she watched the standoff unfold from her ring doorbell camera.
“The SWAT guys were coming through my yard all the time," she said. “My yard is all torn up like crazy."
Dorthy Brown also lives on Fox Glen Rd. She told Mohieldin that when neighbors first heard the gunshots Thursday morning, they never anticipated what the situation would become.
“We live out in the country — pretty much — so sometimes we’re used to hearing stuff like that," Brown explained.
When the gunshot persisted into the evening, that's when they started to become worried, but even then, she expected a quick resolution.
"I just thought they would go in and get him and get him out, and it would be over with, but after many hours, it was starting to get pretty scary," she said. “It’s kind of like being in a bad movie, only it’s our real life."
Brown said as the standoff continued, authorities were in contact with neighbors, sharing information where they could.
Saturday, neighbors reported seeing tear gas deployed, the suspect throwing things out of his broken windows, and SWAT activity throughout the area.
Check out: 'Shooting all over': Next-door neighbor recounts 'scary' police standoff in Fredonia
“I called and I called to get me out of there," Brown said, "then they said they didn’t know I was in my house.”
A full day after the incident started, Gaedtke said authorities got her out. To get her to safety, she said that a SWAT team surrounded her with their weapons and shields at the ready as they hid behind bushes from house to house.
The suspect was finally taken into custody peacefully late Saturday morning.
"When he came out, they shot those rubber bullets at him, and he was yelling and he was screaming," Gaedtke said.
“I’ll be honest, it made me emotional because I really wanted it over," Brown shared. "It’s been very taxing on all of us."
The sheriff's office said in a news release that the suspect was transported to a local hospital for minor injuries and a mental health evaluation.
"We extend our sincere gratitude to the residents of Fox Glen for their patience and understanding during this challenging period," the release said. "We recognize the inconvenience caused by the inability to access your homes and the surrounding areas. Please know that these measures were implemented with your safety as our top priority."
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