Milford police find body after standoff at apartment building

Milford police block streets around a High Street apartment building where a person was barricaded in one of the units on Friday. Milford police block streets around a High Street apartment building where a person was barricaded in one of the units on Friday. Photo: Cedar Attanasio /Hearst Connecticut Media Photo: Cedar Attanasio /Hearst Connecticut Media Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Milford police find body after standoff at apartment building 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

MILFORD - An emotionally disturbed person who was barricaded in an apartment on High Street Friday morning has taken his own life, according to police.

Police found the body of a 50-year-old man inside the unit.

The Metro View apartment building near Milford Harbor, was evacuated after what police called an "emotionally disturbed person" barricaded himself inside one of the units.

Police have not yet released the identity of the man, who lived alone in the apartment.

A resident of the complex said people were evacuated around midnight because of a standoff with police that involved a SWAT team.

The resident, who did not want to be identified, told Hearst Connecticut Media he was a neighbor of the man who barricaded himself in the apartment. The resident said the deceased man had several guns in his apartment.

Milford police said, "Shortly after 8 a.m. a limited entry was made into the apartment and the 50-year-old man was found deceased. Cause of death to be determined by Medical Examiner."

Officer Mike DeVito said, ""Prior to us making entry we tried verbal contact, we tried deploying a robot, and we entertained the thought of a K-9. All three were met with various stumbling blocks."

DeVito, of the Milford police department, confirmed the man was a registered gun owner.

Before the man barricading himself, the man had crashed his red BMW into a utility pole outside the Metro View apartments.

Around 8:30 a.m., the situation had apparently eased with residents being allowed back into their apartments

The first word of the incident came at 5:18 a.m., when Milford police tweeted "large Police Presence in the area of 25 High St. High St closed at Green St. Also Factory Lane closed at Helwig St Avoid the area use alternate route."

Another tweet followed at 5:36 a.m. with "Police have EDP who is barricaded in this apartment complex. Adjacent apartments were evacuated as a precaution. Heavy Police presence on scene."

Apart from the tweets, Milford police have released few details about the incident.

Ambulances were stationed on two sides of the apartment building. Around 7:15 a.m,, a third ambulance, from Milford Rescue, left slowly, with its lights off.

The Metro View apartments built in 2007, have 28 one-bedroom apartments.

The complex is a prime location overlooking Milford Harbor and steps away from downtown stops and restaurants.

According to Metro Star Properties website, rents at the apartments start at $1,695.