An armed barricade/hostage situation that began with gunfire Tuesday night in James City County ended Wednesday morning with no one getting injured.
It did, however, result in the arrest of a 23-year-old James City County man.
It all started with a report of gunshots in the 200 block of Portmarnock Street – inside Ford’s Colony – at 10:10 p.m. Tuesday.
There, a woman flagged down officers “indicating that a family member was having a mental health issue and was armed and inside the residence with a 22-year-old female who was known to him.”
The man, later identified as Kenneth Alan Wilder, was reportedly armed with an AR-15 rifle and a 9mm handgun, James City County Police said.
Wilder, police said, refused to get out of the home or to allow the 22-year-old woman out.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Wilder had fired multiple shots outside the home, police said.
Negotiators made contact with Wilder throughout the night. At approximately 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, officers were able to assist the woman out of the home. She was uninjured.
During negotiations, Wilder fired a gun again inside the home, police said.
Wilder got out of the home at around 7:25 a.m. wearing a bulletproof vest and ballistic helmet and armed with the AR-15, 9mm handgun, a knife and a hatchet, police said.
He was arrested without further incident and was taken to Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail, where he is being held without bond.
Wilder is charged with abduction. He was not injured, police said.
A mug shot for Wilder was not immediately available.
Newport News Police Department and the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office assisted.
