Police Surround Alleged Gunman in Warminster

UPDATED: 1:50 a.m.

Warminster police are evacuating an apartment complex and nearby residents while a standoff with an alleged gunman continues.

Police were called to the Jefferson on the Creek apartment complex, 675 E. Street Rd., Warminster, for a domestic disturbance at about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and "were met with gufire," according to Warminster Police Chief Mike Murphy.

The police and the gunman had a "firefight for a short period of time" before the man barricaded himself and his common law wife inside the apartment, Murphy said. The woman eventually got out of the apartment and is being interviewed by police.

No police officers have been injured so far, Murphy said. "We're settling in for what we feel is going to be a prolonged incident ... it's going to be a cold long night."

The alleged gunman is holed up in an apartment, reportedly with a 12-gauge shotgun. He may have other guns as well, according to emergency radio communications. Those reports have not yet been confirmed.

Residents of the complex initially reported being asked to remain in their homes during the incident. But those trying to get into the complex were unable to return.

The Red Cross set up a reception station at William Tennent High School, where communications director Dave Schrader said those displaced by the standoff could warm up and get a bite to eat.

The incident drew police personnell from miles around. Sirens screamed and lights blazed as police cars and tactical response teams from across Bucks County raced to Warminster in response to the incident, which began around 8 p.m.

Police closed down Street Road at the Davisville Road and at Reeves Lane and rerouted traffic off of Street Road and up Davisville.

The nearby Davisville Shopping Center has been cleared and police have secured the perimeter. 

More than a dozen police units are lined up along Davisville Road, blocking the entrance to the shopping center, which is next to the apartment complex. Police from nearly every Central and Lower Bucks municipality, including Doylestown, Bensalem, Lower Southampton and Upper Southampton, are assisting on the scene.

The Central Bucks County major incident response team, called SWAT by some, drove its Lenco Bearcat to the scene. The Bearcat, which is stored in Doylestown, also was used during a standoff in Doylestown Township on Father's Day with an armed gunman.

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.