10 Hour Hostage Stand-off in Leesburg

[allingeneral]

Too bad this couple didn't have personal protection in their home. It would have saved 10 hours of negotiating with an armed felon as well as tens or hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to provide this guy with a public defender and keep him in prison for the next 20 years.

LEESBURG, Va. - After nearly ten hours, a hostage standoff is over in the home of an elderly Leesburg couple.

Police say 49-year old William Spencer, from the Baltimore area, was wanted in connection with an armed robbery.

Spencer broke into a home in the 700 block of Valley View Avenue, after he had held another family hostage earlier, Leesburg Police spokesman Chris Jones says.

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=732&sid=1715163

The second standoff included a couple in their eighties.

Police surrounded the home and hostage negotiation teams talked to the man, bringing the situation to a peaceful conclusion Friday night.

The woman was released around 9 o'clock, and then Spencer surrendered and Leesburg Police went inside the home and got her husband.

The woman was unharmed and her husband suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Police say Spencer used a gun to rob a jewelry store near the Loudoun County Courthouse around 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Then he fled on foot, broke into a home on the 200 block of Royal Street, and took the keys to a gold Jeep Grand Cherokee. Nobody at the home was harmed.

The Jeep was later found abandoned in the South King Street area, and police believe the man then fled on foot to the house on Valley View Avenue.

[Vahunter]

Goes to show everyone needs a gun for protection.

[jadedone4]

OK, not be an "anti" here (god knows that is the furthest from the truth about me); but a gun in the hands of an 80year old worries me (didn't say scares). I understand the right to protect - but at that age, do we accept that a elderly person will have full command of cognitive facilities to recongize threat, retrieve pistol/rifle, steady/aim, put bullet where it needs to be - prior to being disarmed, or worse (with the worse being hitting beyond target, or even any issues with "cognitive" thought and hitting incorrect target because of any degradation of mental abilities).

... an older driver "drifted" into my lane when headed over to BRA this AM; so that got me to thinking about this situation.

Truth of the matter... I'd rather NOT have any restrictions on age(s) as that is just an "open-door" for anti's to start with blow-hard rhetoric; but the thought did enter the brain for a split-second. Looking forward to the day when my teeth AND my trusted SIG are on the nightstand beside me.

[Moccasin]

The same can be said of people of just about any age. I constantly find drivers of all different ages who cannot keep control of their cars because the choose to devote their mental abilities to something other than driving while behind the wheel. If the individual can live alone then I would say they are mentally aware enough that they can do anything they want. My grandmother is still alive, 80+ years old, and not able to live alone. I don't believe she should have access to firearms because of her diminished mental abilities caused by strokes.

[CCFan]

I understand the train of thought - and how many younger drivers have cut you off in traffic or sped by you recklessly? Did that make you wonder how many 21 year old kids can go get a shiny new pistol with no training? Same rules apply, regardless of age - anyone who owns a firearm should know properly handling, safety rules, and should use them enough to be proficient. Maybe we should have a "take your elders to the range" day....

(oops - looks like Moccasin already beat me to it...)

[Vahunter]

No matter how old or how young even with traing there is going to be an idiot somewhere.

[babarsac]

I know what you mean. A few years before his passing we had to take my grandfathers truck and guns out of the house. He woke the entire neighborhood shooting through the front window at the invisible people stealing his truck. Plus the homeowners association didn't like him coming outside and firing his revolver in the air on July 4th.