Standoff Frustrates Neighbors

Colorado Springs police evacuate residents and block streets during a standoff for safety reasons. Still, some neighbors struggle to understand the procedures.

Police said they evacuated 12 homes, closed some streets and detoured traffic after a man was believed to have a weapon and explosives in a home on Thundercloud Drive on the city’s north side Thursday. The man, whose name wasn’t released, took his own life after the seven-hour ordeal, police said.

Police are investigating to confirm whether the man actually had a weapon and explosives.

The standoff made some parents anxious as they tried to pick up their children from school. One mother chased after a school bus because police didn’t allow it to enter a closed street. Another parent, Michele Comfort, rushed from her teaching job to get her third-grade daughter, who was enrolled in after-school day care at nearby Frontier Elementary School.

“I didn’t realize it had affected this particular school because I thought it was far away from the incident,” said Comfort. “So if it were closer, I would be very concerned, and I would be a very frazzled parent.”

Many neighborhood residents, such as Elizabeth Denicola left home or returned from work early Thursday afternoon to find the standoff under way and that they were unable to go home.

“We have to leave our homes because someone has done this, and it’s very inconvenient — especially when we have children and pets involved,” she said.

Area resident Stephen Wolf, like many neighbors, considered the standoff an inconvenience.

“Worked a hard day, and I (was) ready to go home, take a shower, eat some dinner, relax and watch some TV,” said Wolf. “So, yep — a little inconvenient.”

A neighbor who asked to remain anonymous said the city has had too many standoffs lately, and wants authorities to do more about them.