VERO BEACH, Fla. — A Vero Beach man who barricaded himself in an apartment Sunday for five hours after shooting a firearm toward the street was arrested, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office said Monday.
Kendall Wireman, 62, is facing charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and discharging a firearm in public in a reckless manner. The drug conviction was in Michigan.
Dozens of residents were forced to leave their apartments at Pemberly Pines Apartment Homes, off Fifth Avenue, west of Indian River Boulevard and east of U.S. Highway 1.
The Indian River County Sheriff's Office said around 11:30 p.m. the man came out of the apartment with his hands up and unarmed. No injuries were reported.
The situation started just around 5:40 p.m. when people in the area called 911 to say a man had shot off a handgun from his apartment building toward Eighth Street.
One witness told a dispatcher: "I'm getting in a shootout so you may want to go inside."
Additional callers said they heard the man say "things are going to get bad late."
The man then returned to his apartment, according to witnesses.
Several deputies immediately established a perimeter of the apartment building, which eventually led to the displacement and evacuation of residents in nearby apartments.
The man refused to come out of the residence or allow deputies inside.
The IRCSO SWAT Team and Crisis Negotiations Team were then deployed to the scene.
Assisting were the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and the Vero Beach Police Department.
IRCSO detectives on the scene obtained a search warrant for Wiremen's apartment. A pink and silver-colored .380 caliber pistol and several rounds of ammunition were also located in the attic.
During interviews with detectives, Wireman confessed to making statements about a shootout but claimed the gun was a BB gun.