Arimo standoff comes to an end, with one suspect in custody
News Team
LATEST UPDATE: 10:10 PM
A press released the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office has identified the suspect as 47 year old Brandon Hess. He is facing a felony charge of aggravated assault, after allegedly firing a weapon at Arimo Mayor Lonnie Gunter and a Bannock County Sheriff’s deputy.
UPDATED: 7:15 PM
The suspect was taken into custody around 7:00 p.m. after SWAT used flash bangs and entered the suspects home where he had holed up in. The suspect is alive, and after being checked by paramedics, he is expected to be booked into the local jail.
Local News 8 will release more information as it is provided by law enforcement.
UPDATED: 4:40 PM
ARIMO, Idaho (KIFI) — The Bannock County Sheriff’s Office and SWAT are responding to an active critical incident in the area of Woodland and High Street in Arimo. Bannock County spokesperson Emma Iannacone has confirmed that an unnamed gunman barricaded himself inside a residence and shot towards the Arimo Mayor, Lonnie Gunter, and a Sheriff’s Deputy.
According to Iannacone, the incident began with a dispute over a water hose that the suspect had allegedly stretched across the road. The mayor responded to the home to direct the suspect to remove the hose, and when the suspect refused, the mayor returned around 11:00 a.m. with a sheriff’s deputy. Iacone tells us that at this point, the suspect fired at the mayor and deputy, striking the mayor’s car.
The STAR Team, a multi-agency SWAT team, responded shortly after the shots were fired. The suspect barricaded himself inside his home. Authorities have attempted to negotiate with him over loudspeakers and use tear gas to drive him out, but he reportedly has not responded since around 3:45 p.m.
Authorities are directing residents to stay away from the area as the STAR Team and members of the Sheriff’s Office respond. None of the nearby schools has been affected by the incident. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the area has been blocked off, and the situation is isolated.
Details are limited at this time as this is a developing situation.
Local News 8 has contacted Bannock County for more information. We will update this story with new details as they become available.