BOULDER, CO – Boulder police and SWAT team members responded to reports of an armed man who had at least one hostage at the Hair Rage International salon at The Shops at Table Mesa Wednesday morning. The man was taken into custody around 12:30 p.m., police and video from the scene confirmed.
Police were initially called out to the shopping center at 10:13 a.m. on a report that a man had a gun at the salon. Police initially said at least one woman was inside with the suspect but said just before 11 a.m. that there were possibly two women inside.
Boulder police spokesperson Shannon Aulabaugh said at a noon news conference that “multiple” women were believed to be inside the building and that officers were trying to determine what, if any, relationship they have with the suspect.
SWAT team members and bomb technicians responded to the scene and were on the phone with the suspect around 10:45 a.m., the Boulder Police Department said. Aulabaugh said the suspect was at times combative and that negotiators had briefly spoken to at least one of the women being held hostage.
Police confirmed the surrounding businesses were evacuated voluntarily.
Aulabaugh said police were investigating whether the incident involved a domestic violence situation. She said officers had an idea of who the suspect may be but that the department wouldn’t be releasing that information to the public for the time being.
Aulabaugh said officers were hoping for a “safe resolution” to the incident and said medical personnel were on standby, though she said there was no reason to believe anyone was injured as of noon.
At 12:30 p.m., video at the scene showed the suspect walking out of the salon and surrendering to officers. Aulabaugh confirmed the man was in custody. Video from the scene also showed a woman leaving the building under police guidance, though she was not handcuffed as the suspect was.
Police said the woman was being checked out and that the area was still secure as of 1 p.m. so the crime scene can be processed. People whose cars are in the shopping center’s parking lot will have to wait to retrieve them, police said.