Dad arrested after standoff with SWAT team (Palm Bay, Florida

UPDATE: Dad is identified as CHRISTOPHER LYNCH. See article at bottom of post. Police say there's a history of domestic violence. What a surprise.... Note that the article also identifies this as a "fight." Since when does somebody invading your home with two guns constitute a "fight"? It's a freaking armed hostage taking, dummies! Unfortunately, this is just the usual media backpedaling you see on domestic violence all the time.

UNNAMED DAD is in police custody after holding his "estranged" wife and 2 children hostage in their home. The wife and children were able to escape, and Dad eventually surrendered to the SWAT team surrounding the house. (I still have not found a single article about a mom pulling the SWAT team drama thing. I suppose it's got to have happened somewhere, but I have yet to see it.)

Hat tip to "J" for finding this.

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20091117/BREAKINGNEWS/91117002/1006/news01/Dad+arrested+after+hostage+situation+ends+in+Palm+Bay

Dad arrested after standoff in Palm Bay
BY J.D. GALLOP • FLORIDA TODAY • November 17, 2009

A 39-year-old man is in custody this morning after police said he held his estranged wife and children hostage in their Palm Bay home overnight.

The unidentified man surrendered to Palm Bay SWAT team members at about 6 a.m. and was taken to the Palm Bay Community Hospital after appearing under the influence of an unknown substance, said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department.

The woman and the children, a 14-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, managed to escape the home during the overnight hours, police said.

The standoff began just after 11:30 p.m. Monday after the man stormed his estranged wife’s home in the 1200 block of Heitzman Street and held her briefly at gunpoint, officials said.

“We got a 9-1-1 call from the woman’s boyfriend said that she was being held against her will and that there were two children inside the home,” Martinez said.

“Apparently the husband didn’t know that his wife had a boyfriend. He just learned she had a boyfriend.”

The woman ran out of the home after Palm Bay police arrived before midnight. A short time later, SWAT members, along with a hostage negotiator, arrived on the residential street and made contact with the man through a cell phone and text messaging. The neighborhood was not evacuated.

About 4 a.m., the woman’s children ran out of the front door. Inside the home, the husband reportedly had fallen asleep after bouts of nausea, officials said. The husband eventually surrendered to officers about 6 a.m. The man was placed in an ambulance with a police officer and taken to the hospital.

Police also say that the man had been arrested on domestic charges involving his wife before but that the case was not prosecuted.

An investigation is ongoing and charges are pending, police said.

http://www.wesh.com/news/21636380/detail.html

Police: Man Held Woman, Kids At Gunpoint
Gunman's Children Released From Home Unharmed
POSTED: 5:03 am EST November 17, 2009
UPDATED: 12:39 pm EST November 17, 2009

PALM BAY, Fla. -- Palm Bay Police said a standoff involving a man who held his estranged wife and their two children at gunpoint for several hours came to an end Tuesday morning.

The standoff began at around 11:30 p.m. Monday in Palm Bay.

Investigators said it began as a fight between Christopher Lynch and his estranged wife. They said Lynch had two guns on him at the time of the standoff.

Authorities said Lynch came to the home and found out that his estranged wife had a boyfriend. Authorities said Lynch reacted violently and the boyfriend called 911. During the argument, the woman said Lynch strangled her and held her at gunpoint along with the children, an 11-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy.

Soon after Palm Bay police officers arrived at the scene off Heitzman Avenue, they were able to get her out of the home unharmed. Lynch remained inside with the children.

At about 4 a.m., investigators told the children to make an escape after they learned Lynch had been dozing off and under the influence of pills and alcohol.

The children made a successful escape and were safely reunited with their mother outside the home.

Lynch left the home peacefully at about 6:30 a.m. and was transported to a hospital in Palm Bay for observation.

Investigators said Lynch faces charges of false imprisonment, child abuse, aggravated assault with a firearm, battery and domestic violence.

The police department said there is a history of domestic violence within the family. No restraining order was on file, according to police.