A domestic call to Wilmington police on Tuesday afternoon created a massive standoff with police outside a house on Wrightsville Avenue that ended when a 63-year-old Wilmington man committed suicide.
Police responded to the call at about 7:13 p.m., where the man’s wife said he was armed. The man barricaded himself inside the home on the 6300 block of Wrightsville Avenue between Oleander and Rogersville Road and would not return to contact attempts by police negotiators.
A police bomb squad sent a robot from the nearby REMAX parking lot to enter the home at about 10:30 p.m., where the SWAT team found that the man ended his life with a gunshot wound. Wilmington police said they would not release the man’s name until his next of kin were notified.
Police amassed at the scene near the intersection of Oleander and Airlie Road, blocking access to Wrightsville Avenue. Residents were evacuated and others trying to get home were diverted to the Atlantic Marine parking lot.
