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Last night, February 7, 2022, at approximately 10:15 p.m., Idaho Falls Police Officers were called to the Motel 6, located at 1448 W Broadway, for a report of an armed suicidal person. Officers learned that the person was barricaded in one of the guest rooms and had already discharged one round from a firearm inside the room.
An Idaho Falls Police Officer was able to establish contact with the person who was refusing to leave the room and continued to make suicidal statements, including that they wanted police to shoot them.
While the Officer maintained a dialogue with the person, other Idaho Falls Police Officers evacuated neighboring sections of the hotel to protect other hotel guests. The Idaho Falls Police SWAT team and the Crisis Negotiations Team were also activated and responded to the hotel.
The IFPD Patrol Officer, who is a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team, spoke with the person for approximately two hours and at one point was joined by an additional member of the Crisis Negotiation Team. Officers were able to successfully deescalate the situation and the person agreed to surrender peacefully.
The person was taken into police custody at approximately 12:15 a.m. and taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation and assistance. Fortunately, no one was injured during this incident. No further information will be released.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is (800)273-8255. The Idaho Suicide Prevention Hotline is (208)398-4357 (call and text capable).
**Idaho Falls Police Officers respond to assist persons in crisis often, sometimes daily, in our community. Our agency respects the right of the general public to examine their government and police activity in their community. However, out of consideration for the person in crisis and their right to privacy, in most cases, we do not release public information regarding those calls for service. There are times when exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis. Reasons for those exceptions may include if the incident takes place in a public setting, the incident displaces or otherwise affects a large number of people otherwise unconnected to the person or situation, the incident requires a large police response which generates public concern, the person’s actions put other members of the public at risk, etc. Many of those criteria were met during this incident and the information above has been released for those reasons.