Woman freed and man subdued by police following hours-long hostage situation in Wisconsin

Six agencies were called to assist and an officer was shot by a crossbow

Six agencies responded to the situation on Tuesday night (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A woman has been freed by police in Wisconsin following an hours-long stand off involving a male suspect who was armed with a crossbow.

The Wisconsin Dells Police Department (WDPD) said in a statement on Wednesday morning that the woman had been involved in a disturbance with a male suspect inside a residential apartment.

The police department were called to the building not far from Wisconsin Avenue in Wisconsin Dells, a city in southern Wisconsin, shorty after midnight on Tuesday.

“Upon arrival, responding officers were confronted by the male who proceeded to barricade himself, and the female, in a bedroom and stated that he was armed with a firearm,” WDPD chief Nicholas Brinker said.

“The male threatened to shoot the female. At this point the responding officers began setting a perimeter around the residence and additional resources were requested to assist.”

Negotiations with the male suspect went on for “several hours” via phone, but he refused to free the woman or surrender, the police chief said.

WDPD chief Brinker said, “at approximately 5.30am, negotiations broke down and it was felt that the female was in great danger based on statements being made by the male”.

Officers from the Columbia County and Sauk County Emergency Response Teams then entered the home to retrieve the woman and “In doing so, the male fired a crossbow at a tactical team member”, it was said.

There were not fatalities and the woman was freed and unharmed.

Chief Briner said in a statement that “the officers and deputies showed tremendous restraint and utilised less lethal options to subdue the male and take him into custody”.

The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, Sauk County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Delton Police Department, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, and Dells Delton EMS all responded to the scene.

No further information was available.