Hostage negotiations to free wife and daughter of stabbing victim was a full day’s work, reports say

A man continues to assist the Police with investigations into what
reportedly can be described as an unprovoked hostage situation on
Sunday night, October 29.
 
Reports say the incident lasted for what is considered a full
workday, over eight hours.

REAL News learned that the matter of unlawful confinement was
reported to the All Saints Police Station by a 911 emergency
operator after a relative of the victims telephoned the hotline.
 
As a result, several senior officers, including from the “C” Division,
the Special Surveillance Unit, and the Criminal Investigations
Department left for the scene at Ferris Farm.
 
Accompanying them were soldiers from the Antigua and Barbuda
Defence Force and men from the Office of National Drug Control and
Money Laundering Policy (ONDCP).
 
A source says the hostage situation began at about 9:20 p.m. on
Sunday and ended at 5:45 a.m. on Monday, October 30.
 
Reports say that a Bendals man had stabbed his employer and then
held the man’s wife and eight-year-old daughter at knifepoint.
 
The perpetrator allegedly had barricaded himself and his hostages
inside a bathroom and was refusing to release them.
 
However, after a police corporal from the Surveillance Unit had
engaged the suspect for several consecutive hours –until almost
midnight – he released the child, who was handed over to relatives.
 
The negotiations continued, with a female superintendent also
attempting to persuade the suspect to release the second hostage
and surrender.
Reportedly, this lasted for several more hours until about 5:45 a.m.
 
At that time, the officers got the suspect to unlock the bathroom
door, and he agreed to release the hostage and give up himself. 
 

However, allegedly at the last minute, the man changed his mind.
But before he was able to close the door, two male corporals
managed to force their way into the bathroom.
They quickly secured the hostage and disarmed the suspect, who
was subsequently taken into custody.
 
Reports say that neither of the females had any signs of physical
injury; however, the Bendals suspect had cuts on his T-shirt, along
with what are said to be superficial wounds to the chest, both hands,
and one wrist.
 
He was later transported to the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre for
medical assessment.
 
His employer, the stabbing victim, was also treated at the medical
facility and was kept overnight for observation. His injuries are not
life threatening.
 
It is alleged that the suspect was at his employer’s home on Sunday
night, sometime after 9 p.m., when his boss decided to take him
home.
 
Further allegations say that after they got into the vehicle and were
about to leave, the Bendals man made a certain statement, after
which the employer felt a sharp pain to his upper right rib cage and
realized he was bleeding.