http://www.wdaz.com/news/crime-and-courts/4470419-gunman-arrested-after-5-hour-standoff-inside-grand-forks-apartment
A neighborhood is safe after being forced out into the heat for hours after a gunman ran into their apartment building.
Six hours after fleeing for their lives James Gonzales returned home with his fiancé and four children.
“We were able to make it out this window,” he showed us.
The family was getting ready for a day at the park when a gunman wanted by police for 5 outstanding warrants ran into their apartment on 14th Avenue South to hide. Looking through his peep hole Gonzales realized there was no easy way out.
“He was wrapping up his handgun in a t-shirt which he had removed,” he explained.
Next, there was banging on the door.
“I was manning my door, preparing myself to engage with him in physical combat, but my wife was screaming he has a gun,” Gonzales commented.
The family feared for their lives.
“We were under the impression he was very desperate and might be looking for hostages,” said Gonzales.
A daring escape, as one-by-one, the family, whose kids are all under the age of five, crawled through the window.
“It was difficult because I was trying to keep an eye on the door to make sure he wasn't coming through,” explained Gonzales.
Once to safety, all the family could do was watch for the next 5 hours joining other evacuees. Others were told to hide in their homes. Even the suspect's family came to watch as the SWAT team closed in praying for a peaceful ending.
“I think it would be overwhelming for anybody, I think if you have 80 cop cars, sheriffs and people in vests and suits, and you got an AK-47 pointed at you from 20 feet away, I think it's going to fear anybody,” said a cousin of the suspect.
After a methodical sweep of the building, a shirtless 36-year-old Samuel Nelson was found hiding in an attic crawl space and gave up without incident.
“Took a little bit of convincing, I don't think he wanted to stay where he was anymore,” said Lieutenant Derik Zimmel with the Grand Forks Police Department.
For the Gonzales family it's been a rough start to the week. 15 hours without power yesterday due to the storms, and then a near death experience today.
“Hopefully recover and get back to normal,” said Gonzales.
Nelson is expected to face a list of charges.