A man arrested following an incident that saw multiple agencies responding to what started as a welfare check in Depew Sunday night, Captain Rochelle Menard with the Depew Police Department told WIVB News 4.
Officers were called to a residence on Cornell Drive at 5 p.m. for a welfare check; when they arrived, they saw a male outside. When cops attempted to speak with him, he rushed inside the house and into the backyard.
Police apprehended the man and discovered traces of a fire inside the residence.
The Depew Fire Department was dispatched to the area to put out the fire.
“I was just driving up the street and I saw the police and fire trucks blocking the street trying to get home from the game,” Brett Kaska, who lives nearby, said. “It normally doesn’t happen in this neighborhood.”
“We first noticed police cars coming down the street zooming one after another, it was Depew Police and Cheektowaga Police just coming one after another,” Jessica Kraus, a local resident, said. “They completely surrounded the house, had all of their guns out, and then we saw smoke coming out of the house.” We were afraid, we were trying to figure out what was going on, but we were just keeping in the rear of the house because we could hear all the cops saying,’stay inside,’ and they had had one of the neighbors move their vehicle so they could get around the home, which was terrifying.”
The man was transported to a local hospital for assessment.
Menard stated that neither the individual nor the responding cops were injured, and that there is currently no threat to the public. The inquiry into the incident is underway.
This is a developing story, and it will be updated as more information becomes available.
Leave a Reply