Police: Shooter had 'self-inflicted knife wound,' no other injuries

A man is in custody after police say he fired on them Tuesday when they went to his home to check on his welfare in the Pike Creek area near Capitol Trail, New Castle County police said.

Police said the shooter had a self-inflicted knife wound, but no one else was injured during the stand-off. His name has not been released, but Master Cpl. Michel Eckerd said he is in the hospital for evaluation. More information is expected to be released as the investigation continues, Eckerd said.

Officers were dispatched at 1 p.m. for the welfare check, Eckerd said. When they arrived on scene, shots were fired from the house, and officers took cover. Police stayed on scene for two hours, surrounding the house.

Eckerd said they are unsure the number of shots fired, but some residents said they heard multiple shots.

"Total it's been four," said Melissa Owens, who lives nearby on Parke Avenue, adding that at least one of those shots came from a female police officer who was standing near her house. "The third one I saw her shoot right next to my window."

Owens was in her bedroom as officers were outside her Parke Avenue house. Police informed her the shooter was in a wooded area behind her backyard fence, she told The News Journal over a phone interview.

She said police knocked on her door at 3 p.m. to tell her the suspect was in custody.

Helicopters flew above Capitol Trail (Del. 2) and Meadowood Drive. County and state police were also on the roadway holding automatic weapons, while other officers walked through nearby neighborhoods, carrying rifles slung around their necks.

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Some nearby businesses, such as the Western YMCA and Newark Farmers Market were also on lockdown.

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Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.