A 29-year-old man who shot himself in the head at 1116 Wheeler Ave. on Tuesday morning as police attempted to arrest him for misdemeanor charges died on Wednesday.
William Key was taken to Erlanger Hospital immediately after the incident and into surgery. He did pull through the surgery, but was listed in critical condition afterward.
Key had outstanding warrants for failure to report an accident, leaving the scene of an accident and filing a false police report stemming from a traffic crash that occurred Monday.
SWAT members attempted to talk him out of the house where he had barricaded himself, but he refused to leave the house.
According to police reports, the man was involved in an accident Monday but left the scene without reporting it. Once he returned home, he reported his car stolen. Warrants were obtained for his arrest. It was during their attempt to arrest him that he ran into his home and refused to come out.
While making contact with him over the phone, police talked to his girlfriend and encouraged her to come out. She did so on her own and is not believed to have been kept in the home against her will. She confirmed with police that her boyfriend was inside the home armed with a revolver and was threatening to kill himself.
After attempts by police and some family members to talk him out of the house failed, police deployed tear gas into the home hoping to flush him out. Despite the gas, the suspect refused to come out. A SWAT entry team was then deployed into the home to find him and bring him out. It was during this time that he was found on the living room suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. A trauma surgeon that works with the SWAT Team was on-hand to give the suspect immediate attention. After stabilizing him for transport, he was rushed to Erlanger.
Prior to the escalation of events, the decision to call in SWAT was made after concluding a risk assessment matrix. Members of the SWAT team and hostage negotiators were called in to determine what approach was necessary to resolve the situation. After reviewing the suspect’s criminal and mental history, it was found that he had a violent past which include charges of assault, drug and weapons possession, driving offenses, reckless endangerment, and evading arrest.
No one else was injured during the incident but there was some minor damage to the home while trying to get the suspect to come out. Additionally, there were no shots fired by police other than the deployment of gas into the home.