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Violent Southington hostage situation
Updated: Sunday, 17 Jun 2012, 6:37 PM EDT
Published : Sunday, 17 Jun 2012, 11:03 AM EDT
SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) -- It was Sunday morning and the SWAT team was in the heart of Connecticut suburbia, responding to a violent hostage situation.
Folks in a Southington neighborhood were stunned to see SWAT teams rolling in early Sunday morning. Many woke up to a recorded phone call telling them to stay inside.
"I don't think there was any panic, it didn't seem to be a panic, just kind of like, what is it?" said neighbor Tom Torrisi. "There has been a lot of trouble up the street."
The trouble on Father's Day, at 14 Meadow Lane, was an adult man, violent and threatening to kill his father and mother. The parents were able to get outside of the house safely.
Because it was thought Raymond Tufts IV might have had a gun, officers from the Central Emergency Response Team surrounded the house.
Eventually, the son surrendering peacefully, but the response was necessary because of the risk.
"The son was inside the house highly intoxicated," explained Lt. Lowell DePalma of the Southington Police Department, "possibly from drugs and alcohol and he was very violent."
Neighbors tell News 8 that they were certainly concerned about the situation, but many of them actually reached out, offering to help police.
"We had neighbors come out of the house, they were trying to share any information they had about the family, or the home or the situation," said DePalma, "that was very helpful to us."
"He mows my lawn, he used to mow my lawn and he is a good person at heart," says Torrisi, "but he admits he has got issues."
It was a startling start to their Sunday, but neighbors were relieved that it ended safety.
Police say that Tufts came out on his own free fill and was taken into custody without incident. Charges are pending and there will be a medical evaluation.
There were no reported injuries.
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