[Updated, 11:27 p.m.] Police have taken two more people into custody and have reopened a portion of New Britain Avenue in West Hartford that had been closed to traffic since approximately 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, after reports of an armed man entering a home.

Police have been surrounding this house on New Britain Avenue for several hours. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

Updated, 11:27 p.m.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on Wednesday, a standoff that had been ongoing for more than four-and-a-half hours ended peacefully.

The West Hartford Police SWAT team, after being unable to make contact with two males inside a home at 1195 New Britain Ave., entered the home. The two men were taken into custody.

A witness reportedly saw one of the men with a gun, but police did not comment on whether a weapon was recovered.

Check back on Thursday for further details.

Original story

A heavy police presence remains on the scene of of a home at 1195 New Britain Avenue in West Hartford where an armed man reportedly entered a house sometime around 6:30 p.m.

Several West Hartford Police SWAT vehicles have been surrounding 1195 New Britain Ave. for several hours. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

Several SWAT vehicles and many officers in gear have been on the scene, but do not appear to have entered any residences.

Police have confirmed that a man with a gun is inside a home at the intersection of New Britain Avenue and Westgate Street, and said he has not been arrested.

One neighbor said she saw teens on the front lawn arguing with people inside the home that has now been surrounded by police. She said she contacted the police non-emergency line and was told that police were on the way to the home. They asked if she had seen any weapons, which she said she had not.

The neighbor said she was told to go inside her house, and was later evacuated by police.

Police surround 1195 New Britain Ave. Courtesy photo

Before she was evacuated, the neighbor saw a teen jump out a window of the home. He was apprehended by police, she said. Another person was apprehended in front of her home.

Several other neighbors commented that the home where the armed man is suspected to be is a “strange house,” and several also believe that the home has been under observation by police in the past.

None of those who commented personally know the residents of the home.

Emily Birnbaum, who lives on Brian Road, said that she was at a friend’s house next door and said, “Some guy jumped on a trampoline to get over” a fence. She also saw a man “get put into an ambulance.” She said she saw people getting taken into police custody.

New Britain Avenue remains closed to traffic from Vine Hill Road to Cortland Street, and has been closed since approximately 6:30 p.m. Side streets in the area are also closed to traffic. Some neighbors have reportedly been evacuated, but that could not be confirmed.

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