Blenheim hostage situation: Man charged with kidnapping baby after standoff with police

• Police were negotiating with an armed man holding a person hostage at a Blenheim house.
• The incident began at 5.10pm Friday, with another occupant escaping and no injuries reported.
• Police took a man into custody on Saturday and said a baby was recovered alive.

A man has been charged after allegedly abducting a baby in a family violence incident that turned into an armed standoff with police.

Police were negotiating for 24 hours with the armed man who took a baby hostage at a house in Blenheim on Friday night.

A man armed with a firearm turned up at the Park Terrace house in what police described as a family harm incident.

Police said the man was known to the two occupants inside, with one managing to escape.

The 44-year-old man was arrested around 4.35pm on Saturday, and a baby was recovered safely and uninjured.

Police said on Sunday morning that the man has been charged with threatening to kill, discharging a firearm to intimidate, abducting a child under 16, and contravening a protection order.

He is due to appear in Blenheim District Court on Monday.

Nearby neighbours were all asked all of Friday night to stay in temporary accommodation with police keeping them updated on developments.

People were able to return to their homes on Saturday evening.