1 arrested after standoff in Sikeston
SIKESTON, Mo. (KBSI) – One person was arrested after officers responded to a report of an assault in Sikeston early Monday morning.
Sikeston Department of Public Safety officers found the suspect at a home in the 600 block of Pine.
When officers tried to make contact with the suspect, the suspect barricaded himself inside the home and would not comply with officers’ commands to exit, according to the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.
The Sikeston Special Operations Group (SOG) was deployed to the scene to assist officers. They began negotiations and then SOG officers entered the home and arrested the suspect.
In the early morning hours of Monday February 6, Sikeston Department of Public Safety officers responded to the 1001 block of E. Malone near Pine Street for a report of a victim who had been shot at by a male suspect.
Officers identified the suspect as, Philip J. Swift, 37, of Sikeston.
Officers found Swift at his apartment at 600 Pine Street Apt. C6 in Sikeston.
Once at the apartment two juvenile victims were found outside the building in visible distress, according to Sikeston DPS.
They told officers Swift was in possession of a firearm and another juvenile victim was inside the apartment asleep.
While outside the apartment officers heard one gunshot come from inside the apartment. Officers approached the
front door, forced entry was made into the apartment and found the juvenile victim inside the apartment asleep.
Once inside the apartment Swift began yelling at officers to leave from a bedroom inside the apartment, according to Sikeston DPS.
Officers ushered the juvenile out the front door and down the stairwell to safety. As the juvenile was being removed from the apartment, Swift fired several more shots inside the apartment and officers left the apartment ushering the juvenile victim to safety, according to Sikeston DPS.
Swift began yelling at officers, shut the front door to the apartment and began barricading himself inside.
The Sikeston Special Operations Group (SOG) was deployed to the scene and tried to negotiate Swift’s surrender.
Once the SOG was on scene officers began to evacuate all the tenants of C Building and assisted them to a safe location.
After hours of unsuccessful negotiations, members of SOG forced entry into the apartment. Swift was found in a bedroom and taken into custody.
Swift was found with a six-shot revolver with six spent shell casings in the cylinder.
He was issued a no bond warrant through Scott County. He faces three counts of assault 1st degree – special victim, one count of assault 1st degree, three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of unlawful use of weapon, one count of armed criminal action, one count of unlawful possession of a weapon and one count of stealing a firearm.
Swift is being held at the Scott County Jail.
The special victim of the assault 1st degree is for each officer that was inside the apartment at the time Swift fired the gun through the bedroom door.
None of the victims or officers were injured.
The Sikeston DPS was assisted by several area agencies including the Scott County Sheriff’s Office, New Madrid County Sheriff’s Office and South Scott County Ambulance District.
