FLORENCE, Ky. — A shelter-in-place order, issued at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday night, has been lifted for neighbors near the 200 block of Lakeview Drive south of Florence, Ky. after a seven-hour standoff with police.
Officials said Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the area around 3:40 p.m. for a person refusing to leave. When police arrived, the situation escalated and Christopher Sawyer, 38, of Florence, barricaded himself inside a home, according to a press release from the Boone County Sheriff's Office.
Police said Sawyer held his girlfriend and her young daughter inside the residence for six hours at gunpoint, while threatening to kill his girlfriend. The victims tried to escape the home multiple times, police said, but Sawyer blocked the door.
The victims were eventually able to escape and call 911, police said.
A fire broke out inside the home during the standoff as well, officials said, and Sawyer will be treated for smoke inhalation before being sent to the Boone County Detention Center. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
He is charged with wanton endangerment, two counts of unlawful imprisonment, terroristic threatening and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon.
