MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – A man accused of shooting his neighbor days ago in Minneapolis, he was arrested early Monday morning following a standoff that lasted several hours, according to police.

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Police tried to take a man into custody Sunday night after he allegedly shot his neighbor who was trimming a tree in Minneapolis.

Law enforcement officers surrounded his home on Grand Avenue South near 35th Street around 10 p.m., and for more than three hours, authorities tried to negotiate with the suspect, whom authorities identified as John Sawchak.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that in addition to the SWAT team, crisis negotiators were brought in, along with a psychiatrist, and police even spoke with Sawchak’s family. The chief explained that the SWAT team was extremely cautious because, in addition to the weapons cache, they believed the 54-year-old suspect had knowledge of improvised explosive devices.

Around 1:30 a.m., Sawchak was arrested after walking out the back door of his home.

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“We called in dozens of officers to assist, including members of our SWAT team, drone team, crisis negotiators and patrol, as well as command staff. I am grateful to report that after a series of steps were taken, very methodically and systematically, constantly making announcements and advising the individual what we were doing at each step, the individual was finally safely out of the house before we had to to get gas into the house,” Chief O’Hara said, adding, “We identified issues of concern, including firearms inside and also knowledge of IEDs. Fortunately, our officers were able to peacefully arrest this individual this evening after several hours of a SWAT operation.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jabon Frey also commented on the issue, saying, “I know there have been several people, including council members, who have urged us to step in immediately and do it the wrong way. I stand with our police officers.”

Background

Sawchak has been civilly committed in the past. Court documents show Sawchak has an extreme risk protection order. It shows he threatened to kill a neighbor multiple times, threatened to shoot his sister and slashed the tire of an off-duty police officer.

The threats and acts of violence date back to 2016. Sawchak is currently facing charges of attempted second-degree murder, assault and harassment after investigators say he shot his neighbor, Davis Moturi.

“In this particular case, we failed this victim 100 percent, because this should not have happened to him,” O’Hara previously said.

On Sunday, O’Hara apologized for his officers’ response to the situation.

“Minneapolis police did not act in a way that was urgent enough to prevent that individual from being shot,” O’Hara said.

Moturi’s wife, Caroline, returned home twice with a police escort. She previously told FOX 9 that a lieutenant asked her to be patient with the police department.

“I said, patience is what shot my husband. We’ve been patient for over a year,” said Caroline Moturi, Davis’ wife.