Klamath Falls, Ore. – Efforts to capture a stabbing suspect led to a seven hour standoff in a Klamath Falls neighborhood Tuesday.
The incident began early Tuesday morning when a man with multiple stab wounds was treated at Sky Lakes Medical Center.
“Our deputies met the victim at the hospital.” Explains Klamath County Sheriff Chris Kaber. “He was uncooperative – really wouldn’t tell us exactly what had happened.”
Police tracked the stabbing to a home on Boyd Court, where blood was found in the carport.
“They started talking to people that came out of the home, and they learned that the suspect was inside the house, and that he was potentially armed.” Adds Kaber. “Even probably armed.”
A Special Response Team was called in, and an extensive standoff began.
“I was just sitting in my bed, and my Grandma came in and said, ‘there’s a bunch of police officers and firefighters out there.” Noted neighbor Braydee Kaler during the standoff. “So I checked it out, and I saw like a huge tank out here, and they’ve been talking on the bullhorn trying to get this guy out of there for a few hours now – but he’s not really cooperating.”
Several neighbors were evacuated for safety.
Craig Hansen temporarily gave his home to police.
“They needed more adverse position to look at him, or observe him.” Said Hansen. “But I brought the key to the Sheriff, and they passed it on, and I left.”
Suspect Thomas Anderson eventually surrendered after police fired tear gas into the home.
“We had to deploy a generous amount of gas, CS gas, into the home.” Sheriff Kaber reports. “It was the safest thing for us, and the safest thing for him as well.”
Kaber says Anderson is being held without bail for a parole violation. “There was one weapon found in the home, I believe it was a shotgun – however, he came out unarmed.”
Two drones, and a robot from Jackson County were used to gather information during the standoff.
Sheriff Kaber says he’s grateful the situation was resolved without injury. “Just how thankful we are to the people in the neighborhood, but we’re also very thankful to the other agencies that supported us – the BINET drug team was there, we had U.S. Marshals that helped, the Klamath Falls Police Department, and even Jackson County sent a robot over at our request – they had one that was new to them, they got to try it out a little bit, and it was helpful.”
The stabbing victim is listed in ‘fair’ condition at Sky Lakes Medical Center.
Anderson is likely to face additional charges as the investigation continues.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.