An hourslong police standoff between Kittery police and a man they say pointed a rifle at people working outside of a house ended peacefully Thursday night.

The incident began after police received a call around 1:45 p.m. Thursday reporting a man outside a house next to 161 Pepperrell Rd. was yelling at workers at the house, and pointing a gun at them.

Police officers found the man standing inside the front door of 161 Pepperrell Rd., but he refused to come outside to talk to them, Chief Robert Richter said.

A stretch of the street a few hundred feet long, between its intersections with Haley Road and Chauncy Creek Road, was closed for several hours because of the threats and firearm. As officers tried to speak with the man, the police department called in the Southern Maine Special Response Team, which established a perimeter around the area, Richter said.

After hours of communication with the suspect, he “surrendered peacefully” at 6:10 p.m., according to Richter.

The suspect, a 39-year-old Kittery man, was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and taken to York County Jail.

The road reopened to traffic at 8:15 p.m.

Richter said police continue to investigate the incident.

Comments are not available on this story.

filed under: