Police subdue man who was threatening to take his own life in Kroger parking lot

Published 3:43 pm Monday, December 19, 2016

Kroger is open and a man who was threatening to kill himself is getting medical attention after an incident Monday afternoon.

Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong said his officers responded to a fender bender at about 3 p.m. on Monday.

“Our officer got back to one of the cars in the fender bender and noticed the person had a weapon. The officer backed off when he saw the weapon and called for backup,” Armstrong said.

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Armstrong said his officers shut down Kroger and its gas pumps and went to work trying to talk with the man, 57, who was threatening to shoot himself. Armstrong would not release the name of the subject.

“We diverted traffic and continued to negotiate until we are able to get him to get his weapon,” he said.

“I am glad it didn’t end badly for anyone, including the suspect. No one was hurt, there were some people who were inconvenienced. People who were shopping in Kroger were inconvenienced, but I’m glad the public was understanding and cooperative. Our goal was to keep the scene as safe as possible,” Armstrong said.

The scene was declared safe for the public at 3:54 p.m., he said.

Armstrong said alcohol may have been a factor in the incident, “but that remains to be determined.” The man was taken to Merit Health River Region for evaluation.

“Our officers handled it very professionally. Everyone got to go home and we had a pretty good outcome, considering,” he said.