Brooklyn Park standoff: Suspect kills himself, child taken hostage is safe

An hours-long standoff that included the suspect holding a 7-year-old boy hostage in a Brooklyn Park home ended Thursday night when the suspect killed himself.

According to the Brooklyn Park Police Department, officers responded to the 7500 block of 83rd Avenue in Brooklyn Park at 3:15 p.m. Thursday on a report of a suspicious man walking through yards. One caller reported the man had broken into his home and then fled on foot. 

When officers arrived, another family said a man had just broken into their home, where he found a 7-year-old boy hiding in a closet and wouldn't let him go. There were other children in the home at the time of the break-in, but they fled. 

The suspect said he was armed with several guns and refused to surrender, police said. 

SWAT and a crisis negotiator team responded to the scene and after an "extended period of time," police negotiated with the suspect and he let the child go, police said. The boy returned to his family and was unharmed. 

The suspect remained in the home and refused to surrender until at 10:30 p.m. the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

No other details have been released. Police say the incident is under investigation. 

Note: Some of the details provided in this story are based on the police’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.