Suspect in Dayton shooting, SWAT standoff identified

Gunshot victim had serious injuries, according to Dayton police.

Credit: Marshall Gorby

Credit: Marshall Gorby

A suspect has been identified in a Dayton shooting that led to a SWAT standoff that lasted more than six hours.

Dayton police identified the suspect as 44-year-old Johnny Trigg Jr. He is believed to be armed.

Anyone with information on Trigg’s location should call Dayton police at 937-333-COPS (2677), the Dayton homicide unit at 937-333-1199 or Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-STOP (2867).

The standoff ended around around 1:15 p.m. in the 1700 block of West Stewart Street after more than six hours.

Police responded to the area around 6:40 a.m. on a report of a shooting. A neighbor reportedly shot a man and went inside an apartment, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch.

The man was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, Dayton police Maj. Christopher Malson said. The suspect and victim are known to each other have been in an argument for the last two weeks, he added.

During an investigation officers learned Trigg may be inside an apartment on West Stewart Street, Malson said. When police were unable to make contact with him they called SWAT to respond.

Trigg has ties to the apartment where the standoff took place, but it’s not clear whether he is a resident.

“We go off the information that we have that we develop on scene from individuals who were witnesses,” said Malson. “One of the reason that SWAT and HNT are called out is for the ability to try to safely resolve that situation...We do err on the side of caution and bring the teams out in any situation we think they’d be beneficial.”

Crews have deployed tear gas and used a flash bang during the standoff. At one point, crews went inside the apartment but came back outside shortly after according to a Dayton Daily News crew on the scene. A drone and robot also were used at the scene.

Commands for a person to come out of the apartment with hands up could be heard.

Malson said police use a variety of technology to avoid person-to-person contact during a standoff.

“We would rather find the individual by other means and then be able to negotiate and de-escalate the situation than to come up on them in a surprise-type situation that may not end well,” he said.

SWAT and hostage negotiation units are part-time teams typically made up of patrol officers, Malson said. Calling them to the scene does pull from other parts of the police department.

“There is a cost to it, but I think we all agree if we can have these situations end peacefully that cost is very minor in terms,” he said.

We are working to learn more and will update this story as information is available.

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