A man used a 10-year-old boy as a shield during a 30-hour standoff with police in Ohio, The Associated Press reported.
Donald Gazaway, 31, is charged with kidnapping, inducing panic and felonious assault after having a 30-hour standoff with police at an apartment complex in Liberty Township.
“Everywhere he moved, he was using the child as a shield,” Sheriff Richard Jones told reporters, according to The Associated Press. “He wouldn’t allow that 10-year-old to leave his sight. That was his protection.”
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Jones said the hostage situation began when the boy’s mother called police saying a man with a gun was demanding money.
Gazaway fired 30 shots, hitting an armored vehicle and a robot sent into the apartment. Gazaway then barricaded himself and the boy in the garage.
During the standoff, police didn’t fire any shots at Gazaway in fear of hitting the boy. Apartment managers and residents provided police with food and the use of their facilities.
After 30 hours passed, Gazaway surrendered on Sunday and was jailed.
His bail is set at more than $1 million.
Gazaway was released from prison in July 2017 after serving nearly five years on felonious assault charges.
