Man, 107, dead after standoff with police

Police in Arkansas say the 107-year-old man shot at officers and they fired back, killing him. Photo / Thinkstock

A 107-year-old man was killed after police officers shot back at him during a standoff at a home, police in the southeastern Arkansas city of Pine Bluff said.

Police were called to the home Saturday afternoon about a disturbance and say officers arrived to find Monroe Isadore had threatened two people by pointing a weapon at them.

Officers had the pair leave the home for their own safety and approached a bedroom looking for Isadore. When the officers announced who they were, Isadore shot through the door at them but missed hitting them, said Pine Bluff Lt. David Price in a news release.

The officers retreated to a safer area, and supervisors and additional help were called, Price said. Supervisors started negotiating with Isadore and continued after SWAT officers arrived at the home about 72 kilometres southeast of Little Rock.

The SWAT team inserted a camera into the room and confirmed Isadore was armed with a handgun, Price said.

When it was clear the negotiations weren't working, SWAT officers released gas into the room from outside a bedroom window, Price said.

SWAT officers entered the home, made their way to the bedroom and threw a "distraction device'' into the room, Price said.

He said Isadore began to fire at the officers and they fired back, killing him.

Price did not immediately return phone calls for further comment. He said in the release that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Pine Bluff has about 49,000 residents.

-AP